Ned O'Sullivan (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Cathaoirleach. I expected to be further down the rota and I was doing a small bit of self-briefing, but I will take my chance when I get it. I welcome the Minister and thank him for the work he and his Department are doing. He is a very busy Minister, with a huge brief. I do not say this often, but he deserves great respect for the amount of work he is taking on and the quality of the work he is doing. This is universally acknowledged now.

We had the representatives of the foster carers with us some weeks ago. I was impressed by their presentations. They outlined their problems, with which the Minister is more than familiar. How optimistic is he that he can answer the concerns raised with him? How optimistic would he be that rights to proper remuneration and pensions would be in place in future? Is the Minister confident Tusla will be able to put forward a programme that he will be able to support to the benefit of carers and children alike?