Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Sinn Fein)
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To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the progress being made by the Health Service Executive in their efforts to ensure that all foster carers are fully compliant with all regulations and standards, including full vetting; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [46762/12]

Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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All foster carers must be assessed and approved by the Foster Care Panel prior to placement of a child in their care, except in circumstances where a child is being placed in an emergency with relatives. The placement of children with relatives in an emergency is covered by Part III of the Child Care (Placement of Children with Relatives) Regulations 1995. A preliminary assessment of suitability is carried out at the time of placement and in the vast majority of cases the full assessment is commenced. Assessment of suitable candidates for children in care should not be rushed as time is required for all parties to seriously consider the task been undertaken. The quality of the assessment is more important than the time frame in which it was carried out. Efforts are ongoing to ensure that all foster carers are fully compliant with regulations and standards, including full vetting. The National Standards for Foster Care in place since 2003 are inspected against by HIQA who have been resourced to undertake an increased rate of inspections commencing later this year.