Lynn Ruane (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank Mr. Gloster for his statement. I have lots of questions but will not have time to put them all to our guests. Some of my questions seek clarification to help me understand a number of things. Sometimes when one is supporting people or dealing with specific cases it can be unclear whether something is a policy, a statutory requirement or something else. Let us take the example of a person who is 18 and is due to leave foster care, care outside the home or kin care. The householder providing the care says that the young person, who may be about to start a post-leaving certificate course, can stay but that arrangement breaks down and the young person leaves at 19. If the person does not take up aftercare between 18 and 19, does he or she lose the opportunity to take up accommodation or certain aftercare supports and services? What happens in those circumstances? I came across this recently and I did not know why that would happen.

The next issue I want to raise is the financial support which, as we know, only continues beyond the age of 21 if the person is in full-time education. Some people will not be able for that in that moment but may be able for it later on, as a mature student. They could be like myself and want to go to college in their late 20s when they feel safer and their head is a bit clearer. Does Tusla believe that policy should be revised? People who are not in education may possibly need more support than people who are, in terms of where they are in their lives. Is there a suggestion here of the deserving versus the undeserving poor or care leaver? The Shared Vision, Next Steps document and youth work legislation refer to those in the 18 to 24 age bracket. Should we consider continuing with payments and with foster care placements until the age of 24? What do the Tusla representatives think of that?

Are there specialised supports for asylum-seeking young people who are leaving care? They will often be in a more precarious position than others in terms of family connections and community ties. In relation to performance, a key objective outlined in Tusla's annual report is a consistent response across all services but in 2021 just 62% of cases awaiting allocation were active. What steps are being taken to address that backlog?