Joe Costello (Dublin Central, Labour)
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I am not seeking a commission of inquiry at the moment but, depending on the Minister's answers, I might be. I am here to ask that the Minister for Social and Family Affairs explain the discrepancy between payments to a family which voluntarily raises an orphaned child and the vastly superior payments to a family which raises an orphaned child who has first been the subject of a care order by the health board. This is one of the many anomalies that exists in the social welfare system. I am glad the Minister of State with responsibility for children is here. I hope we can obtain a resolution of this issue once and for all.

In the north inner city, in my constituency of Dublin Central, two families experienced tragedy. In each case the mother died and a child was orphaned. Both immediate families did the honourable thing and voluntarily took responsibility for rearing the children. They put roofs over their heads, fed them, raised them and provided medical care — one of the children requires constant medical attention and attendance at the Mater Hospital — as well as educational and family care. In all of this they saved the State a substantial sum of money. Institutional care was avoided and happy family contexts were provided for raising the children.

However, the State has the unhappy knack of taking advantage of families' generosity and voluntary assumption of responsibilities. As a result, each family is in receipt of a weekly payment of €97, which is now going up to €107. This is called the orphan's payment by the Department of Social and Family Affairs. However, if care orders had been signed and the children had been taken into the care of the health board, the families fostering the children would be in receipt of €289. Effectively, the families are penalised for saving the children the trauma of being taken into care and then removed from an institution. The ridiculous nature of the system is highlighted by the fact that in each case the same children would be involved and the costs of raising them would be the same. It is simply a matter of a minor mechanical difference in dealing with the care of the children.

Trying to find out anything about the matter is a trying and circuitous business. One must contact the Department of Social and Family Affairs, which refers one to the health board, followed by Park House, a social worker and the health board again. The message eventually obtained is that this is how it is. The rules were made and there is to be no change. One is told it is the way things are, as though it were cast in stone. It is not good enough. Children should be treated equally. I ask the Minister of State to correct this anomaly and not to discriminate against the many children and families in this situation.

Brian Lenihan Jnr (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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I thank Deputy Costello for giving me the opportunity to address the issues involved. The Deputy will be aware that the orphan's payment is a matter for my colleague, the Minister for Social and Family Affairs. I understand from that Department that under social welfare legislation, an allowance may be paid in respect of an orphan by way of an orphan's contributory allowance, based on social insurance, or a means-tested non-contributory orphan's pension. These payments are intended to provide income maintenance in respect of children who satisfy certain qualifying criteria. Payment is made to the guardian of the orphan. "Guardian" is not defined and is generally taken to be the person having the care of the child.

The definition of an orphan, introduced in 1995 includes children where one or both parents are still alive but have abandoned or refused or failed to provide for them. This approach was seen as a necessary response to changes in social and family circumstances, that is, a large number of children being informally, without formal health board intervention, cared for by relatives due to a variety of personal circumstances. There are approximately 1,500 orphans in receipt of such payments. The Deputy referred to two such cases, but in the instances to which he referred, the children are orphans in that both parents had died.

The position of children who are the subject of care orders is that under the Child Care Act 1991, health boards are required to promote the welfare of children who are not receiving adequate care and protection. Where a child requires care or protection that he or she is unlikely to receive unless he or she is taken into care, the health board must take the child into care and provide the most appropriate form of alternative care for that child. The foster care allowance can only be paid in respect of children who are taken into the care of the health board and placed in foster care or relative care in accordance with the Child Care (Placement of Children in Foster Care) Regulations 1995 or the Child Care (Placement of Children with Relatives) Regulations 1995.

Under the regulations, a health board must assess the needs of a child placed in care and the suitability of the prospective foster or relative carers, and draw up a child care plan. The implementation of the child care plan places significant responsibilities and duties on foster carers, whether relatives or non-relatives. The foster care allowance is paid in recognition of these additional responsibilities and the additional costs of looking after foster children.

The allowance was restructured in August 2001 in response to recommendations contained in the working group on foster care report Foster Care — A Child Centred Partnership. The report recommended that discretionary payments made in addition to the basic foster care allowance should be abolished and that the foster care allowance should be substantially increased. As of 1 January 2004, the foster care allowance stands at €289.50 per week for children under 12 years and €316.50 per week for children of 12 years and over. The foster care allowance is currently paid in respect of approximately 4,000 children.

These recommendations were made on the basis of the views that were strongly expressed at consultation meetings held by the working group and the views expressed by the Irish Foster Care Association. The new scheme was put in place to achieve the objective of ensuring that foster carers are adequately recompensed for looking after their foster children without having to go through the process of making claims for discretionary payments.

The issue of care by relatives was dealt with in detail in the report of the working group on foster care, Foster Care — A Child Centred Partnership. The report sets out a number of basic principles that should guide placements with relatives. These are that the best interests of the child are paramount; that the child should be placed only in an appropriate, safe, healthy and stable environment; that the standard of care must be equivalent to that provided in a traditional foster care arrangement; that placements with relatives should only be made where a secure attachment exists or has the potential to develop between the child and the relative concerned; that a partnership approach should be used in developing skills and supports for relatives providing foster care and that placements should not be made as a means to provide income support.

The working group also discussed the possibility that some children are placed in the care of health boards to provide income support for the family in relation to the child. The group was strongly of the view that such a practice would be highly inappropriate. Income support is a matter for the Department of Social and Family Affairs. Children should only be brought into the care of the health board if they meet the criteria regarding the need for care and protection set out in the child care legislation. In addition, the choice of placement of any child in the care system should be based on the particular child's individual best interests.

I have indicated that the payment of the orphan's allowance or pension is a matter for the Department of Social and Family Affairs. These payments are made in accordance with social welfare legislation. With the exception of children who are placed in care under the foster care or relative care regulations, these payments are made directly by the Department of Social and Family Affairs, normally to the child's guardian. The circumstances in which these payments are made and the level of payment are determined by that Department.