Eugene Murphy (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I am glad to be here to speak to the witnesses this morning. As others said, we are delighted to have them here. I pay tribute to foster parents throughout this land. They have a very nurturing and caring approach to people. I constantly meet people who have been in foster care who say they are heading back to their parents, which are the foster parents, to see how they are. They might be coming from a different part of the country. There are still many misconceptions about foster care. There are many couples who would like to foster but say they do not have the ability or do not feel they can do it. Is that something the witnesses come across a lot? How can we approach that? That is said to me several times a month by people who would like to foster. I also raise the six month assessment. I know we have to be careful and people have to go through an assessment but would the witnesses be in favour of shortening that to four months, as a way of bringing people on board quicker?

Whether we like to admit it or not, there are a minority of people who make terrible references to foster parents by saying they are in it for the money. I deplore that comment. First, foster parents do not get a payment. The payment is towards the costs of bringing up the child and caring for them, ensuring that child can attend all the events children would and have as natural an upbringing as possible. I hate that comment. It is a minority of people who say it. They will say it privately, which is appalling. That is something I would like stamped out. Mainly it is a matter of the misconceptions that still exist. There are many people who feel they would like to foster but think they cannot. I thank the witnesses for being here.