Geraldine Feeney (Fianna Fail)

I am delighted to see that the Department is now ready to recruit 200 social workers. The Minister of State has highlighted his great concern at the fact that 16% of the children in State care do not have a social worker. I hope the new allocation of social workers will address this.

The existence of a Minister of State with responsibility for children is a major step because now the concerns and interests of children are ring-fenced. The Minister of State sits at Cabinet, which is an indication of the weight of his Ministry. He mentioned that 5,700 children were in State care, of whom 5,100 are in foster care. The HSE tries to foster such children with their relations as far as possible. The others go to unrelated foster families, which is working well. We had an excellent debate a few months ago about foster care. It was under the Fianna Fáil-Progressive Democrats Government - that is, in my previous term in the Seanad - that the position of Ombudsman for Children was created.

The Minister of State has acknowledged, and I will acknowledge again, that there are wrongs in the system, but I know that with someone such as the Minister of State at the helm, things can be put right. I acknowledge the large budget of €53.6 million for children and families, the extra €15 million the Minister of State has obtained for this year, as well as the 200 extra social workers and 65 extra child care workers.