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

Foster care is the preferred option for children who cannot live with their parents or guardians. Approximately 89% of children in care are currently being cared for by foster carers, enabling them to live in a safe, secure and stable home environment. Foster care provision in an Irish context can be described as general foster care or relative foster care. In the case of general foster care, this can, in turn, be provided by foster carers who are engaged directly by Tusla, or by foster carers who work with private foster care agencies.

Non-statutory foster care agencies are governed by the same legislation, regulations and standards as statutory foster care services provided by Tusla. Tulsa, through its alternative care inspection and monitoring services, is responsible for the monitoring of private non-statutory foster care agencies, in compliance with the national standards for foster care of 2003. In addition, HIQA undertakes regulatory inspections of the non-statutory foster care agencies, and the findings of these inspections can inform governance and regulatory activities.

I am fully conscious that over-reliance on private providers in any context brings with it certain inherent risks. In this context, the Deputy may be aware of the relevant commitments on this issue in Tusla's strategic plan for foster care services for children and young people from 2022 to 2025. As part of recommendation 3 of the plan, Tusla has committed to reviewing the use of private foster care providers and developing a clear scope for the use of such agencies. In addition, I welcome Tusla's commitment in recommendation 3 to examine the potential for using private foster agencies for specific placement types with more robust service level agreements to reference the rates of fostering allowance and support services for foster carers. As I stated, I very much welcome the commitments within the plan in respect of the use of private foster care agencies, in addition to the numerous other commitments in the plan to improve foster care services for children and young people in care across all models of foster care provision.

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