Anne Rabbitte (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
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835. To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the standard payment that Tusla, the Child and Family Agency, pays private residential care companies for each child in their care weekly and annually; if payments are made to these providers on a per-child basis or a per-bed basis; and the average cost to Tusla of providing a care place in State-provided care and in a voluntary provided care setting. [21344/16]

Katherine Zappone (Dublin South West, Independent)
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The Child and Family Agency, Tusla, has informed me that the average payment to private residential care companies is €5,535 per child per bed per week. The average cost of providing a care place in State provided care in Tusla community based centres is €6,578 per child per bed per week, while the average cost of providing a care place in a voluntary provided care setting is €4,263 per child per bed per week. It should be noted that the cost of each placement will vary according to the identified needs of each young person placed.

It should also be noted that voluntary and State providers perform different functions, in that voluntary care providers provide care to greater numbers of children with a lower risk profile whereas State care providers provide care to lesser numbers of children with a higher risk profile. This has an impact on the cost of care due to the intensity of services and staffing resources required.