Ms Kate Duggan:

Informal kinship care is happening all of the time. That is where Tusla is not involved. We are not involved, there is no social work oversight and there is no HIQA oversight of the placement. This is happening every day of the week in Traveller communities across the country where grandmothers, aunts and uncles are stepping up and taking on care. Kinship Care Day happened last week. From a kinship care perspective, we are engaged with the Department in looking for a policy basis on which to move forward in terms of kinship care. It is where we look at kinship care as a model and one that works, is appropriate and is supported.

Foster care is under a different arrangement in terms of inspections, regulation by HIQA and oversight of social work practice. If we are very honest, that is the bit with which members of the Traveller community are slower to engage.