Mr. Bernard Gloster:

Yes. Private foster care bodies are obliged to pay the same to their carers. Those rates at €325 and €352. That is out of the money we give them. The rest of what we give them is tided up in their costs of providing social work and support services, foster carer training and other elements. There is a perception, and I have no doubt that there are some examples of other supports being provided or paid outside the rates of €325 and €352. Ultimately, they might equate to what might be seen to be and in some cases the experience would be a two-tier system. Only in recent weeks the companies have been written to again to remind them of their obligations in that regard. Essentially, while the experience of a foster carer in a private company might feel and be different to the experience of a foster carer in a Tusla area, the rate that the foster carer receives in the foster care allowance should be the exact same. The regulations do not allow for it to differ.