Ms Catherine Bond:

In terms of the child benefit query from the Deputy's constituent, that situation can arise under what is termed a "private foster arrangement". It is governed under the Children Act. If the family, which is related, are not approved or assessed for foster care, therefore, they are in a private arrangement between the individuals within a family. This is something IFCA sees to a significant degree based on calls to our national helpline. It is something that needs to be addressed because we find that relative carers, in particular grandparents, are caring for their children's children - their grandchildren - but they are not entitled to receive child benefit. There is no additional income to enable them to care for those children and keep them out of the care of the State altogether. There is no recognition of the value and contribution the family gives. That is something IFCA has been speaking about to the Department and Tusla. They are traditionally known as private arrangements and the families caring for the children are not entitled to any income while the child benefit continues to remain with the birth parent of those children.

We have a number of foster carers who are now reaching retirement age who suddenly find out that they have no entitlement to the State pension. Many of them have worked prior to coming into fostering and gave up their employment to take on the care of children from the State. This is the real kernel of the issue in terms of pensions. While the pensions commission recommended that home carers would get a 20-year entitlement to contributory pensions for long-term care, IFCA requests that this would not apply to foster carers. There needs to be a unique pension status for foster carers that gives them enough credits for the duration of their fostering career, from the time they take on their first child to the time they retire from fostering, if they remain on the Tusla panel. This adequately reflects the time they have given to the State, where they have not been eligible to enter the workforce. That is only fair and correct and recognises the long service these families have given to the care of children on behalf of the State. What we would like to see in the pension provision is that foster carers would receive contributory pension credits for their entire period of fostering when they were not available for work because they were caring for children on behalf of the State.

I will defer the question on the comparative merits of the contributory pension and the foster care allowance to Foster Care Ireland. Many foster carers enter fostering with a big heart and pensions are probably the last thing on their mind. I might defer to Ms Corridon, who is in this position at the moment.