Mark Wall (Kildare South, Labour)
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1305. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the number of children placed in special emergency arrangements in the past four years; the number of whom are Irish citizens; and the number which are unaccompanied minors, by country, in tabular form. [10574/25]

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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As this relates to data held by Tusla, the Child and Family Agency, the question has been forwarded to the Agency for direct reply to the Deputy.

Mark Wall (Kildare South, Labour)
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1306. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth for a list of providers of special emergency arrangements for children in the past four years; and the funding provided to each provider in each year, in tabular form. [10575/25]

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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As this relates to data held by Tusla, the Child and Family Agency, the question has been forwarded to the Agency for direct reply to the Deputy.

Mark Wall (Kildare South, Labour)
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1307. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the number of safeguarding and child protection complaints made against providers of special emergency arrangements in the past four years, by provider, in tabular form. [10576/25]

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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As this relates to data held by Tusla, the Child and Family Agency, the question has been forwarded to the Agency for direct reply to the Deputy.

Mark Wall (Kildare South, Labour)
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1308. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth to outline the body responsible for the regulation, monitoring and inspection of providers of special emergency arrangements for children; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [10577/25]

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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Tusla, the Child and Family Agency, and my Department share a common aim to meet the needs of all children in care in mainstream alternative care placements. When a shortfall in capacity means that residential care, foster care and a regulated emergency placements are unavailable, the Agency has put in place Special Emergency Arrangements (SEA). SEAs are used to ensure an immediate place of safety for children. The Agency is responsible for the monitoring and inspection of SEAs.

Tusla has advised that when children are placed in a Special Emergency Arrangement [SEA], regular reviews are required and a child may only be placed in an SEA if it is judged to be the most suitable placement available at the time.

Further, Tusla states that all efforts are made by the Agency to move children from SEAs and into mainstream alternative care placements as expeditiously as possible. In the interim, specific measures have and are being taken by Tusla to promote and support the quality and safety of these placements.

Where children are placed in an SEA, there are a number of safeguards in place:

• Tusla has advised that it has internal processes in place for the approval, placement and governance of SEA to mitigate risk and promote the safety and wellbeing of young people.
• Tusla has developed Standard Operating Procedures for these placements, which detail extensive checks that any prospective SEA provider must adhere to, including in relation to records management and staff vetting.
• Tusla has advised that all SEA providers are vetted by the Central Compliance Unit (CCU) of Tusla, the unit ensures that Garda vetting and appropriate qualifications are in order before any child is placed with a prospective provider. The CCU also carries out spot checks to validate staff on active duty.
• Tusla advises that it has created a centralised database of staff screening information related to each provider of SEAs which provides assurance on the vetting, qualifications and experience of staff employed by organisations providing care on its behalf.
• Tusla uses Practice Assurance and Service Monitoring (PASM) reports to support the provision of high-quality services for children and families. The monitoring extends across Tusla activity, including SEAs.
• Through contracts between Tusla and commissioned services, compliance with Garda vetting and child safeguarding statements is reviewed and monitored by Tusla on an ongoing basis
• Young people in SEA’s are visited weekly by a social worker or delegated person to have their voice heard and check on the care being provided.
• SEA providers met with Tusla representatives in September 2024 to receive feedback on the quality of service they provide. These meetings focused on where good care practices were in place and discussed areas for improvement. During these meetings, the Alternative Care Inspection and Monitoring Service (ACIMS) also met with each SEA provider to support moves to registered regulated services. I am informed that Tusla is working with providers of SEAs to progress their services towards becoming fully compliant with regulations. Tusla has advised that four services have successfully obtained a registration in this manner to date, with a further 14 applications under assessment.

Mark Wall (Kildare South, Labour)
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1309. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth to outline the statutory financial supports that are available to young people leaving state care; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [10578/25]

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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Tusla has a duty, under Section 45 of the Child Care Act 1991 to make a decision whether each person leaving care has a need for assistance, and to provide services in accordance with the legislation and subject to available resources. Upon reaching the age of 18, a young person is deemed to have left State care. Young people who have had a care history with Tusla are entitled to an aftercare service based on their eligibility and assessed needs. This assessment considers a number of factors including the young person’s educational and accommodation needs.

If deemed necessary Tusla provides financial support to eligible care leavers who are engaged in a qualifying educational course or training programme. The aftercare allowance amounts to €300 per week and is dependent on the eligible young adult attending an accredited education course, third level course or training programme as outlined in the young person’s Aftercare Plan. The allowance is provided to cover a young adults day to day costs, including accommodation as they progress in their chosen accredited course or training program.

Care leavers not engaged in education and not in employment may be eligible for the full Jobseekers Allowance (€244/week) rather than the reduced rate (€153.70/week) for individuals under the age of 25, provided that they meet eligibility criteria

Care leavers may also access specific housing supports. Primary responsibility for housing lies with the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage and local authorities. This responsibility includes the accommodation needs of young persons leaving State care. In this regard, care leavers have been included as a separate category for funding under the Capital Assistance Scheme (CAS) to enable Approved Housing Bodies to acquire residential units specifically to accommodate care leavers.

In addition, care leavers may also be entitled to a number of additional financial supports in respect of education which include the SUSI Grant (which is payable at the higher rate for care leavers) and the Tusla Dormant Accounts funded Bursary Scheme.

In 2023 Tusla published the Strategic Plan for Aftercare Services for Young People and Young Adults. My Department continues to engage with Tusla on the implementation of this plan with a view to improving aftercare services for care leavers.

Mark Wall (Kildare South, Labour)
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1310. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the number of young people exiting mainstream State residential care into homelessness; and the actions her Department is taking to reduce the number exiting care into homelessness. [10579/25]

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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The primary responsibility for housing and managing homelessness lies with the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage and the local authorities. This responsibility includes the accommodation needs of young persons leaving all forms of State care.

Policy responsibility for homeless young people, insofar as it extends to my Department, relates to children under 18 and any child welfare and protection concerns that may arise in the context of the Child Care Act 1991.

My Department also has responsibility for after care provision, for young people leaving care. Currently, those care-leavers who are at risk of homeless are assisted by the Child and Family Agency, in partnership with other Government Departments or agencies. This includes finding accommodation in supported lodgings, sheltered housing, or facilitating independent living. Since 2017, care-leavers have also been included as a separate category for funding under the Capital Assistance Scheme (CAS). This scheme provides targeted assistance to the most vulnerable care leavers by enabling Approved Housing Bodies (AHBs) to acquire residential units to accommodate them.

Tusla has advised that the number of young people exiting mainstream State residential care into homelessness is not collated in the format requested. However, Tusla does collate data on discharges of young people from mainstream residential care in 2024 on reaching their 18th birthday. Homelessness is captured in the “Other” section of discharge locations, but this also includes additional locations. This data is presented in Table 1 below.

Table 1 – Discharges of young people from mainstream residential care in 2024 on reaching their 18th birthday

The data presented is a count of discharges and not individual young people. A small number of young people can have more than one discharge in the year.

The majority of young people who leave the care of the State each year, having reached 18, do so with secure, stable, safe accommodation in place such as remaining with their foster carers, moving to independent living or returning home to live with their families.

I can further advise that Tusla Local Aftercare Interagency Steering Committees (LAISC), which are in place in all Tusla Areas, engage with key stakeholders to ensure integrated planning, implementation and monitoring of an integrated aftercare plan for young people in receipt of aftercare. If there is a concern in relation to homelessness, a Housing Authority representative may be present.

In line with Action 7 of the Youth Homelessness Strategy, the review of the Housing Circular 46/2014 protocol on Young People Leaving State Care (often referred to as CCMA Joint Protocol) commenced in January 2024.

I can advise that officials from my Department have proactively engaged with their counterparts in the Department of Housing Local Government and Heritage, along with Tusla to ensure that the necessary measures are in place to prevent homelessness for young people leave State care.

Additionally, the Youth Homelessness Strategy, which launched in November 2022, adopts a whole-of-Government approach, bringing together a multitude of key stakeholders who play a vital role in addressing fundamental issues in youth homelessness. The Strategy identifies certain groups who are particularly at risk of becoming homeless and sets out specific actions for identified vulnerable cohorts and Care Leavers are one such cohort.

I can assure the Deputy that officials from my Department will continue to engage Tusla and stakeholders across Government to ensure that care leavers have the best possible outcomes when leaving care.