Mr. Jim Gibson:

The creative community alternative in Dublin north city made an application to my office for significant funding to support children to remain in existing foster care placements and to prevent foster care breakdown so that children would not have to travel into a residential care facility, which quite often would be outside of their communities and thus mean new schools, new clubs and societies and so on. I thought it was a very innovative approach. Foster carers tell me on a regular basis that they need a service now which goes beyond a visit by a social worker to try to calm down a situation and then to make application for services. The creative community alternative is more instant, more innovative and far more supportive. We will use the therapeutic services to bolster that support to children in care, including foster and other care.