Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party)
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The Child Care (Placement of Children in Foster Care) Regulations, 1995 and the Child Care (Placement of Children with Relatives) Regulations, 1995, stipulates that the allowance payable to foster carers and relatives shall not be less than an amount specified by the Minister.

The foster care allowance was last increased on January 1st 2009. Foster carers are paid a weekly allowance, which is a payment to meet the needs of the child in their care. The foster care allowance is currently €325 per week for a child under 12 years of age and €352 per week for a child aged 12 years and over. It is paid in respect of the child and provided in order to allow foster carers to meet all of the child's daily living needs, including food, clothing, basic travel, education costs and hobbies and sports activities. The allowance is not considered as means for social welfare purposes, and is not subject to tax.

If required, Tusla can also provide additional financial supports to foster carers through either additional or enhanced payments.

Additional payments refers to any payment made to a foster carer that exceeds the standard rate of the fostering allowance. Such additional payments may be made in respect of children or young people who have additional needs that are not covered by the standardised fostering allowance. Additional payments can only be made where a child has additional medical or educational needs and when authorisation has been received from the Tusla Area Manager. Each application for an additional payment will be accompanied by supporting documentation evidencing the need.

Enhanced allowances for foster carers can be made when a longer term financial need is identified for additional supports for the child. A maximum of twice the weekly allowance may be paid in respect of children aged between 0-18 years if they require significant care over and above the needs of other children in foster care. This includes children who have been diagnosed with significant special needs and require a high level of personal care and supervision. The purpose of considering an enhanced allowance in these cases is to support foster carers in providing care to these children who have additional needs.

The foster care allowance is in respect of and for the benefit of the foster child and therefore must be used to meet the day to day costs associated with looking after the foster child. In considering any enhanced allowance the assessing social worker is required to evidence that the standard fostering allowance does not adequately provide for the cost of caring for the child.

A request for enhanced supports must certified by the Principal Social Worker and approved by the Area Manager following submission of an assessment of the child’s needs and supporting documentation. A review arrangement for the enhanced allowance must be part of the submission for approval.

In addition to the foster care allowance, foster carers receive a number of targeted supports to ensure they continue to function as a recognised and valued part of the alternative care system. Key elements of this support include a link social worker, access to training and support group meetings and the allocation of a social worker for each child in care. Respite care for children may be arranged if it is part of their care plan.

Pre-assessment and ongoing training are compulsory for foster carers in order to equip them with the skills and knowledge to provide high quality care. Recognising the specific dynamics and the personal nature of relative care, Tusla addresses the training needs of relatives who are foster carers separately. In addition, Tusla provides funding for the Irish Foster Care Association which offers a range of supports to carers, including advocacy, mediation, training and a telephone advice service.

The foster care allowance is one element of the support that Tusla provides to carers when they offer a home and care to children some of whom may have additional, and sometimes significant, needs.

Tusla have advised that they have recently engaged with foster carers in a consultation. Through this consultation, foster carers highlighted the need for the foster care allowance to be reviewed in light of inflation and increases in social welfare allowances. Tusla is currently preparing a paper on this matter.

The rate of the foster care allowance is kept under review by officials within the Department and at present there are no plans to change the rate. However, the Department is undertaking an extensive review of the Child Care Act 1991 and will examine foster care arrangements as part of this review.

Kathleen Funchion (Carlow-Kilkenny, Sinn Fein)
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686. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the capital funding that has been allocated for 2022 to increase childcare places; if this funding will facilitate the building of purpose-built childcare facilities; the specific plans his Department has through the national development plan capital funding for expanding places for the 0-2.8 years cohort; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14584/22]

Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party)
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The works eligible for capital funding are determined by my Department on an annual basis, having regard to the needs of children, families and providers, and to Departmental priorities.

During the 2021 budgetary process, an initial €8.3m was provided for capital funding. A further €2.2m was secured in capital carryover bringing total capital funding available to €10.5m in 2021. The upgrading of the fire safety measures in existing early learning and childcare services was the key objective of the 2021 Capital Programme, with €10.5 million available funding.

During 2021, my Department successfully secured €70m in the revised National Development Plan (NDP) allocation. This will enable significant capital investment in early learning and childcare during 2023-2025. Investment under the NDP will consist of three pillars: Modernisation, New Capacity and First 5 Initiatives. This will enable significant capital investment in early learning and childcare during the lifetime of the NDP as follows:

(1) Modernisation: Much of the existing early learning and childcare infrastructure that was previously delivered by large scale capital programmes is now in need of upgrading and modernisation in order to be fully compliant with new regulations and more recent guidelines, as well as to maximise energy efficiency. This investment will prioritise follow-up funding for buildings that were funded through the Equal Opportunities Childcare Programme (EOCP) and the National Childcare Investment Programme (NCIP), with funding also available for previously non-funded infrastructure.

(2) New Capacity: Ireland is approaching the limits of capacity, with shortfalls for early learning and childcare places already evident in some areas and for some cohorts. The rates of participation in early learning and childcare are also lower than European averages. As investment in subsidisation grows in the coming years as committed to in First 5 and the Programme for Government, demand from parents will also increase. In the coming years, NDP capital funding allocated to early learning and childcare will be used to increase the stock of early learning and childcare infrastructure, in order to address capacity challenges including the undersupply for certain types of provision and in specific areas of the country.

(3) First 5 Initiatives: First 5 (Government Strategy for babies, young children and their families 2019 -2028) was launched in 2018 and was re-committed to in the Programme for Government: Our Shared Future. First 5 envisages a range of innovative initiatives for the early learning and childcare sector, including piloting Family and Early Childhood Centres and piloting outdoor early learning and childcare provision, piloting meal provision. Each of these initiatives have capital requirements.

As outlined in the National Development Plan 2021-2030, access to affordable early learning and childcare is inherently linked to creating an equitable society, sustainable communities and a thriving economy. Early learning and childcare provision is therefore considered under the National Development Plan, along with housing, schools and health facilities as an integral part of national infrastructure.

Capital funding has been reduced in 2022 to €0.5m as my Department focusses on the preparation of distribution of NDP funding from 2023 onwards. This will include setting eligibility criteria, designing and developing the application process, and establishing approval criteria. This 2022 allocation is for Childminding and Parent and Toddler Groups, who maintain 2021 allocations.

In addition, my Department has secured some €750k in capital funding which will be made available to provide financial assistance to providers to comply with fire safety regulations in 2022.

Further information on the Department’s NDP allocation and the application process will be communicated to the sector in the near future. The Department advises the service to contact their local CCCs, who will provide information on future capital supports when it becomes available.