Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

There is also a range of other measures within the foster care improvement plan that Tusla has set out and I will be looking to work on each of those as well. If we can achieve them, all of them can provide benefits to foster carers as well.

We have to look at the response to foster carers in terms of the suite of alternative care policies that Tusla is bringing forward right now on foster carers, on residential care and on aftercare and all the measures that my Department takes, that Tusla takes and, indeed, that the Government takes in response to each of these parts of the care system. These parts are separate but also interlinked, particularly the aftercare element, as children, or young people as they are then, leave foster care and look to live independent lives as well, and that is another part that I want to be able to resource going forward.

As I say, a key focus of mine will be to increase the foster carer's allowance.

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