Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail)
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547. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the reason a guardian payment is €400 while a fostering payment is €365; and the reason there is a difference in the payments in view of the fact that the responsibility is the same. [27657/18]

Regina Doherty (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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At the outset, I want to clarify for the Deputy that the weekly rate of foster care allowance exceeds the weekly rate of guardian's payment.

One of the roles of my Department is to provide income support to families with children in the State. Guardian's payment (contributory) and guardian's payment (non-contributory) are, respectively, social insurance and social assistance (means-tested) payments made to a person caring for a child, where that child is defined as an orphan under social welfare legislation. These payments were known as orphan's payments until they were re-named in July 2006.

The purpose of the guardian's payment scheme is to provide income support in respect of those children whose parents are unable to provide for them, through death or other circumstances. Currently, there are around 1,600 people receiving guardian's payments in respect of approximately 2,300 children. Expenditure on guardian's payments schemes (contributory and non-contributory) was €19.7 million in 2017. A budget increase of €5 per week per orphan, implemented from March 2018, brings the weekly rate to €181 per orphan; the highest rate of weekly child income support paid by my Department.

Responsibility for fostering arrangements rests with the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs. Specifically, under the National Policy Framework for Children and Young People, “National Policy Framework for Children and Young People, 2014-2020 – Better Outcomes, Brighter Futures”, responsibility for supporting and promoting the development, welfare and protection of children and the provision of family support services lies with Túsla, the Child and Family Agency. Family support services provided under the National Policy Framework are available to all families in the State, not just those caring for foster children.

While it is acknowledged that there are perceived similarities between guardian's payments and foster care allowance payments, the schemes differ fundamentally in their purpose. As outlined, the aim of the guardian's payment scheme administered by my Department is the provision of income support. However, the Child and Family Agency in exercising its functions has a broader range of responsibilities and considerations in respect of children in the care of the State than the provision of income support alone.

Foster care allowance for a child up to 12 years is payable at the weekly rate of €325, increasing to €352 for those over 12 years. Any proposal to align the weekly rate of guardian's payment to that of foster care allowance would have to be considered by Government in an overall budgetary context.

I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.