Fidelma Healy Eames (Fine Gael)

I second Senator Fitzgerald's amendment to the motion.

I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Barry Andrews, to the House. I spoke to him previously on some of these issues when the House debated child abuse. I compliment the Government side on tabling this welcome motion. The Irish Foster Care Association recently called for parents who would take on older children and teenagers.

I have a personal interest in this, having been a beneficiary of foster care, in that my first child is adopted. Before we took him home, he had already been in two foster homes even though he was only three months old. We have the most wonderful resource in foster parents, a precious resource that we must not abuse. They are a selfless and caring group of people, truly amazing in the way they allow adoptive parents into their homes and give advice to ensure continuity of care. It is very difficult for them to deal with separation when they finally have to let go of a child in their care. Often, this is not mediated well between the social worker, the adoptive couple and the foster family. Sometimes there is a need for visits and ongoing contact after the child has been placed in the adoptive family. That can be difficult for some adoptive couples. It is important the HSE, social workers and the Minister of State are aware of their needs in regard to the separation.

I congratulate Senator Fitzgerald on her well crafted amendment to the motion. With the detail she has put in it, I can tell she is on the ball concerning foster care. Such parliamentary work is good not just for Fine Gael but for the House and the Government. Approximately, 5,000 children are in foster care, 90% in foster homes and 10% in residential care. The more children in foster homes, the better. In Galway, approximately 240 children are in foster care but there are only three dedicated social workers, with one more to be appointed. The movements and contacts required for one child — I base this on my experience — could take up to one day if not a whole week of a social worker's time.

Senator Fitzgerald's motion refers to the shortage of staff. It is dangerous at times if we do not pay attention to the numbers assigned to a need. An extremely small number of social workers are required for the Galway need. Residential units in Galway are being closed which means that more foster homes are needed for more difficult teenagers. Teenagers are coming in from all levels of society where parents cannot cope. These kids are more difficult to place.

A year ago I was contacted by a mother who was desperate to get help with her out-of-control teenager, who was threatening her and his two year old sister. When the mother asked me to help I called the social work office and spoke to the social worker on duty. I was assured it would be handled. A week later the mother of the child asked me if I had done anything. I replied that I had done all the intervention that day because I knew it was so urgent. Two weeks later, the on-duty social worker had not had a chance to do anything because there was so great a caseload. As Senator Fitzgerald says, if there are so many files unopened, how do we know the risks involved? This is how serious it is.

The Minister of State has a fantastic brief in presiding over the health and welfare of the children of this country. I would love to have that brief but it is a highly dutiful brief. Being a parent of young children, like I am, the Minister of State knows how responsible a role it is. We must consider the numbers versus the caseload. More social workers and a training fund are needed to provide training for foster parents to cope with more difficult teenagers and to entice foster parents to take them. Speaking to foster mothers this morning, they told me they need help with more difficult teenagers. As a father, the Minister of State knows he would need help if he had difficult teenagers.

There is a need for an out-of-hours service on weekends. If a child fractures an arm or needs a tetanus injection, if the foster parent cannot locate the mother and there is no social worker available, the procedure cannot proceed without consent. Then the doctors must make a decision and hope that nothing goes pear-shaped. That is very risky.

Senator Feeney asked about guardianship. A strong case was made to me to represent this to the Minister of State. Can the Minister of State confirm that this measure was put in place yesterday? Perhaps it needs to be rolled out more. Guardianship will allow long-term foster parents to apply for a passport, school insurance, a visit to the dentist, a vaccination or anything in respect of the child.

Another issue brought to my attention is the fee for fostering, some €300 per week. This is considered good for a baby or a young child but not adequate for a child with special needs who must be brought on regular visits to speech therapy or physiotherapy. Petrol costs are not taken into account. A reasonable recommendation is for a tiered system of payment to reflect the need of the child.

Regular training and updating is needed for foster parents. A foster mother told me that older parents, who know quite a lot, are assigned fewer children by the HSE because they are considered more hassle. She felt she knew the rights of the child and how to advocate for the child. Another felt the rights of the child rarely come before the rights of the mother. In one case, a mother entered a new marriage and insisted on having back the child in foster care. She made all sorts of threats to the child and the child returned home. The child had many difficult years with the mother before she was 18 and could go to college. This is a major issue. We must question when the child's needs are best served by the natural mother if neglect is involved. Is there a case there for adoption, as raised by Senator Fitzgerald?

Emily Logan referred in her reports to her concerns about child care. We should bear in mind the Baby P case in the UK. If there is such a trend of neglect by natural parents, let us do something about it. To be an adoptive parent, one must be assessed and counselled, which is right. To be a foster parent, one must go through the same process, but to be a natural parent, nothing is required. That is fine, but in a case where the child is going into care, the State must ask questions for the good of that child. If the mother's welfare and needs are put before the child, that is in contradiction to the Child Care Act, which states that the welfare of the child is paramount.

The Minister might clarify the status of the foster family and the support, if any, it gets when the child turns 18. The foster family remains the main family for the young person. Children are not home and dry or sorted just because they turn 18. They could be at risk of homelessness due to a lack of after care services. This concern was brought to my attention today, as was the importance of the implementation of the national foster care standards.

I have raised these issues before and I wonder when we will get answers, particularly about caseloads and the need for social workers to be on hand to address them.