Jennifer Whitmore (Wicklow, Social Democrats)
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202. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth if his attention has been drawn to the fact that in some parts of the country foster carers are not given care plans for children; if his attention has been further drawn to the lack of standardisation across the country in this regard; the plans that are in place to rectify the matter; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23561/22]

Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party)
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To reply to the Deputy's question my Department requested information from Tusla. They have informed us of the following:

Foster carers who are caring for the child on a day-to-day basis play a critically important and valuable role in contributing to the care plan of children in their care. Every foster carer should receive a copy of the child’s care plan and any exceptions to this should be discussed with the foster carer and the rationale clearly outlined (and recorded on file). Notwithstanding that care plans may include details about the child’s parents or other family members and that GDPR considerations may exist, there should always be a full explanation to foster carers in respect of same and if required a redacted copy of the care plan provided. It is Tusla's ambition that a partnership approach is adopted in the development of care plans for each and every child in care.

Tusla have received feedback during a recent consultation on foster care, on ways in which the Agency can better support and promote foster care in Ireland. For children and young people, they felt that Tusla needs to establish stronger mechanisms for ensuring that their voices are heard in their care planning process and that decisions are made with them and not for them. Equally birth parents had a strong sense of their role in planning for the life of their child and how this needs to changes in recognition of their importance in their child’s life.

Tusla are currently finalising a Strategic Plan for Foster Care 2022-2025. The ambition of this plan is to ensure that the Agency implements the recommendations, based on feedback from internal and external stakeholders, including Foster Carers, to promote a partnership approach and to ensure consistency in service provision, including those issues raised in the Deputy's correspondence.

Should the Deputy have any specific information in relation to areas that this may not be the practice or whereby specific foster carers are experiencing challenges in accessing care plans Tusla would welcome further information and the opportunity to address these inconsistencies.

In discharging its responsibilities, Tusla is committed to ensuring that policies, care planning practices and supports are applied in an equitable and consistent manner across all services, in order to ensure that children and young people in foster families receive the best possible level of care and support.

Louise O'Reilly (Dublin Fingal, Sinn Fein)
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203. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the reason there was a reduction in entry points for the early childhood care and education scheme; the way that the decision was made; the person or body that was consulted in relation to same; the observations that were made arising from such a consultation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23570/22]

Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party)
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Prior to September 2018 there were three entry points per year to ECCE (September, January and April) and children had to be at least 3 years old to enter the scheme.  This lead to a situation where there was variation in the number of ECCE weeks a child could qualify for, ranging from between 61 and 88 weeks depending on the date of birth of the child.

The introduction of a single entry point  aligned to the start of the primary school year ensured that all children could receive 2 full years of ECCE, or 76 weeks. This also ensures that all children can experience the full pre-school curriculum. In making this change, the minimum age was also reduced to 2 years 8 months

A single entry point has also streamlined the administration process for providers, making it easier for them to operate and budget for the programme year. In addition it has made it easier parents to secure places on the ECCE programme for their children.

The minimum eligibility age of 2 years and 8 months for the ECCE programme was chosen based on national experience and a review of international practice. It also had regard to the regulatory environment for early years education and care in this country and issues such as child development readiness and adult-child ratios.

The decision making process was informed by representations and feedback from parents, providers and other stakeholders received over the course of that particular approach being in place. Concerns raised generally related to the disparity of entitlements depending on month the child was born and the issues with integrating children into established groups in middle or towards the end of a programme year.