Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)

I move amendment No. 7:

In page 6, line 48, to delete "section 67, or" and substitute "section 67,".

This amendment provides for the exclusion of children leaving the care of the Health Service Executive because of cuts to the jobseeker's allowance on the grounds that applying this measure to these vulnerable individuals would be inherently inequitable. To preserve equity, the amendment allows for the payment of the full allowance for those who were in care within the previous 12 months before reaching 18 years. This does not cover children who, for example, came into care at 15 years and left care before reaching 17 years. It is felt that a period of 12 months after leaving care allows sufficient time for a child to seek education or training opportunities and thus it would accord with the policy objectives behind the reduction in the jobseeker's allowance for adults aged 18 to 20 years.

Section 4 of the Child Care Act 1991 provides for children voluntarily in the care of the HSE, including children in foster care. Section 18 of the Child Care Act 1991 provides for children who are the subject of a care order and section 5 provides for homeless children who are accommodated by the HSE. An amendment to the Child Care Act 1991 is currently being drafted to provide a statutory base system to allow the High Court hear an application by the HSE for special care.

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