Jennifer Murnane O'Connor (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I met foster mothers in Carlow-Kilkenny yesterday and what I heard was worrying. Although these foster families do an incredible job on behalf of the State, I felt the State should do more for them. Foster care allowance has not increased since 2009 and if the same children were to be put into State care the weekly cost per child would be €6,000. I heard a foster parent was told to go out and get a job to pay for specialised equipment for a child with special needs and I also heard in their voices a fear that if they were to complain the child might be removed from them. Tusla tells us money is there but when these parents came looking for money for special food, beds or school assistance there was none. If they look for occupational therapists privately because the waiting lists are so long they are told to go and seek three quotes, even if this means hauling a child across county borders and many miles away. It is long past time that these children were made a priority.

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