Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)

I addressed this matter briefly earlier. I do not have any indication of what was said at the briefing but I take on board the impression the Deputies got from it.

As I indicated earlier, the foster care allowance is €312 per child under 12, or €339 per child aged 12 or over. Therefore, a recipient could be getting €678 for fostering two children. To get the lone parent allowance on top of that would mean they would be getting approximately €880 per week, which is a very substantial payment. I accept the valuable work that foster carers do and the allowance is to meet the weekly costs of the children within their care. I will look into the situation, given the facts of the particular case Deputy Shortall mentioned, but it will not be for the purposes of this Bill. I am not sure, however, that one would be giving allowances or payments to the tune of €3,300 a month to somebody to look after two foster children. I know the Deputy genuinely got an impression from a briefing, but it is not my understanding. I will certainly check it out for future reference, however.

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