Brian Lenihan Jnr (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)

Amendment No. 6 is a Government amendment. I indicated on Committee Stage that I accepted the thinking behind the views expressed by Senators in regard to interrupted placements. The appropriate period to be disregarded in regard to calculating the period under subsection (2)(a) should be no more than 30 days. Hence, Government amendment No. 6 inserts a new subsection which provides that in determining whether a foster parent or relative has been taking care of a child for the period required by subsection 2(a), any interruption of the placement during that period shall be disregarded unless the total number of days of interruption, whether consecutive or not, exceeds 30. This will allow for short interruptions in the placement of a child with the same foster parent or relative to be disregarded — perhaps in cases where the child returns to his or her natural family but the return does not work satisfactorily or issues arise between the child and the foster carers which result in the child moving to another placement for a short period until the issues are satisfactorily resolved. It is on that basis I propose to reject amendment No. 3 in the name of Senator Henry which is similar, although not identical, to my amendment to address the same issue. The Government response to that issue is contained in amendment No. 6.

Amendment No. 1 is a Government amendment which is also in the names of Senators Henry and O'Toole and is linked to amendment No. 3 with which I have dealt. Amendment No. 2 in the names of Senators Browne and Brian Hayes deals with reducing the period of time for which a child should be in continuous care. The requirement in the Bill is that a child should be in the care of a foster parent or relative for a continuous period of five years. I was anxious to make the point that period of time is an appropriate one for foster parents or relative foster carers to have a sufficient level of understanding of the child's needs. If there is instability or interruptions in the placement, it would not be appropriate for foster carers to have increased autonomy in respect of the child.