Norma Foley

Specifically on funding for building, Tusla plans to invest a total of €286 million in expanding mainstream residential care in 2026, representing an additional €53 million in current funding compared with the amount for 2025. The additional €53 million for mainstream residential care will provide for the full-year cost of beds opened part of the way through 2025 and for an additional 30 residenti…

The Child Care (Amendment) Act 2022, which provides for reform of the GAL system, was signed into law on 19 July 2022. This is a very important consideration. The passing of this legislation enables my Department to establish the GAL national service as an executive office. This executive office of the national service carries out functions on behalf of the Minister. A GAL is a qualified and expe…

I reiterate that this was signed into law on 19 July 2022. At all times, legal advice will be available to GALs. If there are particular reasons for legal representation, such as its being recommended by the court or the GAL wishing to make an application where a case is particularly complex, it will be provided for. In the main, however, we have to be clear about the role of the GAL. He or she is…

I absolutely accept that this is being raised in a genuine way. I 100% accept the Deputy's bona fides and the bona fides of the GALs and everybody else. At the end of the day, everybody wants the best outcome for the child. I have no difficulty with the concerns and the issues being raised. I 100% accept that. The Deputy has made the point that, heretofore, the practice has been that when a GAL re…

I appreciate the Deputy raising this as I know it is a hugely important issue to him, the House and the wider community. As he is aware, last September I requested Tusla to conduct a series of well-being checks for children whose cases were closed during the Covid-19 lockdown period. The Tusla well-being project team began its work last October. I am pleased to say that the project is making real…

I absolutely accept the Deputy's bona fides in relation to this as well. As I said previously in relation to other matters, we want the best outcome here. We want to be very sure and assured of the young people whose cases were closed. There is a specific issue around those who "aged out", to use that phrase, which I do not like, in terms of the sharing of information from Tusla's point of view. I…

I assure the Deputy that I am confident that learnings will come out of this, particularly cross-departmental, almost like eyes on a child and knowing where a child is at a given time, to support the child, in the best interests of the child. Some €3.2 million has been made available to support the work of this well-being check project. I have been receiving regular updates on the work of the ste…

I appreciate the Deputy raising this. It is an issue of huge interest right across the country, including in his constituency. Improving access to quality and affordable early learning and childcare is a key priority for the Government. Early learning and childcare capacity is increasing. Data from the annual early years sector profile shows that the estimated number of enrolments increased by 25…

I appreciate the case the Deputy makes. The purpose here is, in the first instance, to acknowledge that there is excellent provision by private providers and community providers. Notwithstanding that, there are still areas where there is an absence of provision. The purpose of the State-led services is to complement what is already there and to step in proactively where there is not provision. I h…

I thank the Deputy. As for how we are progressing, the first port of call is the local childcare committee, and we ask people to engage there. It can then engage further with the Department. I do not at all take away from the case the Deputy is making. We are very conscious of the costs of childcare. The premise of core funding is where fees were frozen. In return for that, operators were given c…

I have discussed this with the Deputy on a number of occasions and we are absolutely agreed on the importance of foster carers. There is appreciation of and agreement on that across the House. Foster carers play a vital role in enabling our most vulnerable children to live in a safe, secure and stable home environment. While eligibility for the State pension, as the Deputy said, is a matter for t…

There is a commitment in the programme for Government. What is really helpful to us as well is the public consultation we are having. It is a great framework for us to engage with the Department of Social Protection regarding this issue because it is an issue that is consistently raised by foster carers themselves. We need to do all we can to secure the foster carers who are involved in providing …

The Deputy and I are not in disagreement on this. I have always been very clear that the work and service provided by foster carers is second to none. I have also been very clear that it is the optimal option for children who need security and support. In that respect, my Department is doing all it can to ensure that measures are in. I have already referenced the increases in the allowances and mi…

Like the Deputy, the Government and I recognise the importance of early intervention for children with disabilities and ensuring they receive the right services at the right time. That is the bottom line. I am pleased to say that progress has been made in this regard. Over the past few years, the roadmap for service improvement has provided for a series of actions being progressed to improve acces…

Ar an gcéad dul síos, tá sé mar aidhm agam féin agus ag an Roinn áiseanna agus seirbhísí a chur chun cinn, agus tá níos mó airgid againn inniu ná mar a bhí riamh chun é sin a dhéanamh. The primary aim and objective of this Government and this Department is to ensure that we have the funding in place. We have a significant increase in funding this year - greater than we have ever had - to provide …

Gabhaim buíochas leis an Teachta. Aontaím leis ó thaobh an sárobair a rinne Finian McGrath le linn a thréimhse anseo mar Aire Stáit agus an méid atá fós ar siúl aige chun na ceisteanna seo a fhreagairt. In relation to the issues the Deputy raised regarding St. Michael's House and so many others, I want to recognise the sterling work of all the institutions the Deputy mentioned. I have met with re…

I appreciate the Deputy raising this important question. I deeply appreciate the work performed by section 56 organisations and I would like to thank their staff and volunteers for the commitment and support they are giving in improving people’s lives. The Department welcomes the auto-enrolment retirement savings scheme launched in January 2026. The auto-enrolment system provides that all employe…

I want to second and indeed third what the Deputy had to say there about these organisations. They are really important organisations doing sterling work right across our communities, north, south, east and west. The work they do, and the breadth of it, is quite phenomenal. They are very much rooted in community and service to the community. I do not for one minute dispute that but I have to be cl…

I want to be clear. I do not for one minute disagree with the points the Deputy made about the valuable work of these organisations. They are an integral service to communities and I understand the importance of that. I have to be clear: in the delivery of that work they are funded by Tusla. They are not employed by Tusla. There is a separate relationship in existence there between the employer an…

I appreciate that the Deputy is raising a significant issue about the important work that is carried out every day by social workers, social care workers and foster carers. With the prevailing high rates of employment and the range of opportunities across the economy, there is a great deal of competition for and challenge in attracting qualified and expert staff to carry out social work in the he…

In terms of foster care, we have had a very good discussion on the role and importance of foster carers and the contribution they make in terms of child welfare. I can inform the Deputy that 198 new foster carers came on stream in 2025, a 9% increase. Notwithstanding that, I want to do more in this space. I also recognise the demand for foster carers is increasing. We have a number of new children…

We are all very clear about the importance of having the appropriate staff and of having a sufficiency of staff in place to support children. I can share with the Deputy examples of cases that are so complex they require a 2:1 staffing level. That means 14 staff being made available for the care of one child. That is the right and proper thing to do and that is what I would want to have in place. …

I thank the Deputy for her question. While the operation of special care and the provision of special care beds is the statutory responsibility of Tusla, the Department is actively engaging with Tusla in relation to the challenges impacting special care. There are four young people currently subject to a special care order who are awaiting placement in a special care unit. I am advised by Tusla th…

The Deputy attended the briefing with me provided by the Minister of State, Deputy Butler, on the north Kerry CAMHS report. He will appreciate that it is not in my remit; it is within the remit of Deputy Butler. It is my understanding that she will make further announcements as regards the extension of the look-back and issues around compensation. The Deputy will respect that it is appropriate tha…

I want to be clear, in terms of the financial resources being made available, that €26 million has been provided for special care, with an increase of €6 million specifically in terms of the provision of beds. The financial resources are in place for staffing. There is an absolute challenge in staffing which is not unique to us. It has already been referenced that it is in other disciplines as wel…