Imelda Henry (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister to the House and congratulate him and his officials for bringing this important Bill before the House. I commend him on his foresight in recognising the need to strengthen the legislative proposals regarding aftercare and on responding to concerns that there was insufficient focus on this area and such planning was not taking place on a properly structured and consistent basis. As he said, there are three very important and distinct elements in the Bill, mainly dealing with aftercare but also technical amendments on foot of the Child and Family Agency Act 2013 and the provisions regarding the inspection of premises for early years services providers prior to registration.

The Joint Committee on Health and Children, of which I am a member, carried out pre-legislative scrutiny on this Bill and published a comprehensive report. It did a large amount of work, consulted stakeholders and reviewed numerous submissions. We are pleased to have the opportunity to feed into this critical Bill. It allowed members to be fully informed, and enabled us to provide meaningful input into the Bill and make observations and suggestions in the initial stages of the Bill.

There were many discussions in the House and in the media on support services for children who leave care. Unfortunately, these debates usually arose when young adults failed to cope with the reality of life when they left care and in many cases they did not have the support of a family. Many young adults found themselves homeless or had problems with drugs and mental health issues or simply could not cope when they were out of the care of the State which had been the caregiver. Young people in care, like their peers, can face an accelerated transition into adulthood, putting them at greater risk.

Up to now, provisions made for children in care when they reached the age of 18 were not statutorily based. Children in long-term foster care who had settled with a family for a number of years were more likely to stay with them and receive support for third level education and planning for their future. However, this varied in different areas of the country and there was no guarantee of funding from year to year. On the whole, children who had successful long-term placements with foster families had better outcomes and were more likely to go on to third level education. Even if they did not go on to third level, they had support within the foster family after they were 18 years of age.

Unfortunately, the children who were in and out of foster care and the care of the State did not fare so well. Children who were in care for short periods or numerous short periods often fell through the system and were reluctant to re-engage with State agencies. Young adults were often delighted to be cut off into the working world and tried to be independent. As often happens with young people, however, when they had to be self-sufficient and the harsh reality of the pressure of working and providing for themselves hit home, they realised they might have been better off going on to further education or getting support, whether emotional or financial, from the State.

It was difficult in the past to re-engage with State agencies when children reached the age of 18 and had broken contact. This Bill changes that and places an explicit obligation on Tusla to prepare an aftercare plan for eligible children and adults where such needs as identified. A child who has spent 12 months in the care of the state with the Child and Family Agency or the HSE will be eligible for a statutory aftercare plan, which I very much welcome.

As the Minister said, the criteria employed to determine the eligibility for a person aged 18, 19 or 20 years of age for the purposes of the aftercare plan require that he or she has spent 12 months in the care of the State between the ages of 13 and 18. Where the child or adult has been in care for any period of time between the ages of 13 and 18, that time spent in care can be combined to meet the 12 months stipulated. This will help children who have been in and out of care for short periods, as often happens. The aftercare plan will be drawn up six months before their 18th birthday and in consultation with the child. It will incorporate their education needs and care needs, which is very important.

Each year approximately 500 young people move from a care setting into an aftercare service. A number of stakeholders highlighted the wide range of aftercare supports which may be needed by these young people. According to the Department of Children and Youth Affairs, the aim of aftercare services is to provide continuation of services to assist the varying needs of young people leaving care to enable them to achieve a successful transition from their placement to independent adult life in the community.

I am very pleased to welcome this Bill. I am confident there is great goodwill to provide very good levels of aftercare. Stakeholders have highlighted the socioeconomic benefits associated with the proper provision of aftercare services and I am confident that children leaving care will do so with as much support as they require.