Erin McGreehan (Louth, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context

177. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the initiatives he is taking to support kinship carers; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33042/25]

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context

Foster carers play an essential role in our care system, and I am committed to supporting them.A key role for my department is to provide income support to families with children in the State. Where a child is being cared for by someone other than their parents, the person looking after the child may apply for a guardian's payment.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 who satisfies the definition of an “orphan” under social welfare legislation. A child is considered an orphan if they are under 18 (or 22 if in full time education) and both parents are deceased; or one parent is either dead or unknown or has abandoned and failed to provide for the child and the other parent is unknown or has abandoned and failed to provide for the child. 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. Guardians Payment is currently paid in respect of 2,659 children at the weekly rate of €227 per child: the highest rate of weekly child income support paid by my Department.I was really happy to announce this week that children for whom Foster Care Allowance is being paid will now be eligible for the Back-to-School Clothing and Footwear Allowance. In the Programme for Government, we said that we would examine the Back-to-School eligibility criteria to allow flexibility for foster carers and I am pleased to fulfil this commitment. It is estimated that up to 2,300 children, for whom Foster Care Allowance is being paid, will now qualify for the Back-to-School Clothing and Footwear Allowance.Following a recommendation from the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, to develop a policy on the rights of children in informal kinship care, the Department of Children, Disability and Equality have established a steering group for the Development of a National Policy on informal Kinship Care. The policy’s main objective is to uphold the rights of children who are in informal kinship care arrangements. Also under consideration is the access to supports, financial and otherwise, available for kinship carers and children in kinship care arrangements.My officials are currently participating in this group in the context of Guardian’s Payments administered by the Department.I look forward to meeting with Kinship Carers Ireland early next month.I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.