Katherine Zappone (Dublin South West, Independent)
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My attention is drawn to every report HIQA publishes.

I can inform the Deputy that there have now been 12 HIQA reports published in 2018 on foster care services. Each report contains an action plan, agreed with HIQA in advance of its publication, to address all areas of concern. A designated Tusla official is given responsibility for executing the action plan within a specified time-frame. HIQA then undertakes follow-up inspections to examine progress being made.

In 2018, HIQA carried out themed inspections of foster care across seven Tusla areas. Five private foster care providers have also been thematically inspected. These announced inspections have examined the recruitment, assessment, approval, supervision and review of foster carers.

A number of positive findings have been reported this year: General assessments of foster carers have been of good quality. Foundation training of newly approved foster carers has also been generally good. There was also some good practice in relation to support and supervision.

However, HIQA reports have also raised concerns, such as a national approach to recruitment and retention of foster carers. The areas/providers in which HIQA have found such deficiencies will develop initiatives to improve on the numbers of approved foster carers via recruitment and retention strategies.

HIQA will follow up on progress in accordance with respective action plans. There are also challenges in the recruitment and retention of social work staff, who are a vital part of the success of foster care service.

Overall, foster care in Ireland is of a good standard, largely due to the dedication of foster carers and their social work teams. The concerns HIQA have raised serve to highlight what needs to be improved. I, and my officials, will continue to actively engage with Tusla with a view to addressing all concerns and delivering the highest possible standard of foster care.

I value the important work HIQA does to assess and monitor the quality of our foster care services.