Fiona O'Loughlin (Kildare South, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I could not agree more with the Minister when she says children in foster care and their supportive foster care families deserve and should receive all necessary supports. I have already mentioned that no matter what leads to a child being in foster care, there has been some type of chaos within their family situation. There is no doubt many of these children need psychological services and extra medical services to help them reach their full potential. This is not always the case, however, and I have to share with the Minister the heart-breaking case that only recently occurred in my constituency of Kildare South.

A nine-year old boy from Dublin, who we will call John, was placed with a family as their very first foster child. This was possibly the first mistake because John had many needs and perhaps it should have been a more experienced family at that point in time. John had lived a very chaotic life. Both his parents were drug addicts and his father was in prison. He arrived into a loving home and a huge bond was formed, despite the many issues he had, such as the fact he was never taught to use and toilet and that he pulled a knife on his foster parents. In spite of all of this, he did not miss a day in school and the family were in constant contact with a very supportive school. He joined a local football club and he loved it. However, the foster family begged for additional psychological supports and they did not receive them. When I put this down as a parliamentary question, John was still in his home and his foster parents were begging for these supports. Since then, he has been removed and put in a residential home. He has to start in a new school. He has no football club. This is a disgrace.

See this speech in context