I will begin by expressing my thanks to Deputies Kerrane and Ó Murchú for raising this important issue and for offering me the opportunity to respond. I acknowledge, as I have previously, how upsetting it was to watch and listen to the experiences of the young people interviewed as part of last week's programme, and I commend and thank each one of them on speaking out. It is vital that we have the opportunity to hear from young people with experience of the care system and it is important that we listen to them. For the information of the House, I would like to share that the vast majority of children in State care, 96% in fact, are in foster care or residential care. In comparison with our international peers, we are doing well on this front. Nine out of ten young people in foster or residential care are engaged in education, and three in every four young people leaving care and entering aftercare services are now participating in education and training, according to the CSO. However, Tusla also deals with children and young people in care who are often coming from highly traumatic situations through no fault of their own, and in some instances foster care and residential care settings can break down. Last year Tusla received 106,444 child protection and welfare referrals, up 10% on 2024. I was pleased to secure a 14% increase in funding for Tusla in the most recent budget, bringing its overall budget to €1.4 billion in 2026. Tusla had approximately 5,661 whole-time staff at end of 2025, 343 more than at the same time in the previous year, including a 3.15% rise in social workers. As regards special emergency accommodation, Tusla has experienced a 500% increase in the number of separated children seeking international protection being referred to the agency since 2022, along with an increasing number of children with more complex needs. This challenge is not unique to Ireland. The Department, along with Tusla, recognises that the use of special emergency arrangements is far from ideal. The Department is proactively supporting Tusla to improve the availability of placements and to expand capacity across its network. Significantly, the use of special emergency arrangements to provide placement for separated children seeking international protection has reduced significantly over the last year, dropping from 105 at the end of 2024 to three as of last week. As I mentioned last week, these three are, in fact, cases of disputed age and as a result are being placed in special emergency accommodation until the issues that have arisen are resolved. The reduction in numbers being facilitated in special emergency accommodation has been achieved by opening 79 additional registered residential centres to support the large number of unaccompanied minors in the State. The Department is also proactively supporting Tusla to improve the availability of further placements and expand capacity across its network. It is important to note the number of unregistered special emergency arrangements has significantly reduced this year. Some 19 centres are now categorised in line with legislation as emergency placements under the governance of Tusla and subject to inspection and monitoring by HIQA; 35 centres are in the process of registration; and 19 centres have completed registration and will be subject to Tusla's inspection and monitoring service in line with all private residential placements. This means that by the start of May this year, Tusla will have reduced the number of emergency placements that are not registered by almost 50%. The work to move that to a zero point continues this year.

Sentiment score: 0.34

I thank the Deputies for raising this important issue. In order to overcome the challenges within the care system that were highlighted on the programme and which have been raised by the Deputies, which I acknowledge, the Department secured an overall increase of €177 million for Tusla in the most recent budget. That is representing a 14% increase in Tusla's budget over 2025. This brings Tusla's total budget to over €1.4 billion. Additionally, Tusla plans to invest a total of €286 million in expanding mainstream residential care in 2026; an additional €53 million of current funding compared with 2025. As I mentioned previously this evening, 96% of all children in State care are placed in foster care or residential care. In this regard, in addition to building on the capacity of mainstream residential placements for children, prioritisation has also been given to building on supports with respect to foster care, which resulted in a 21% increase to the foster care allowance in 2024, a new initial placement payment to foster carers, improved travel allowances and greater access to therapeutic and peer supports. I want to assure the Deputes that officials within the Department are proactively engaging with their counterparts in Tusla to continue to build on the supports that foster carers can avail of. The Department also expanded Tusla's capital budget to €35 million in 2026, which represents growth of 100% since 2024. That refers to the provision of additional residential places. This investment will support Tusla to expand its residential care, as has been outlined by the Deputies, including the provision of step-down units for children leaving special care. Three new step-down units are scheduled to come on stream. Two will become available in December of this year and one in January of next year. This will, in turn, add to capacity in special care going forward. As I said, significant work has also been undertaken to reduce the number of unregistered special emergency arrangements. Last year, there were 170 such facilities and we now have reduced this number to 70. We will continue to do more in this space going forward. I would also like to confirm to the House that the Department has also engaged with children and young people on a consistent basis in the past year both through the care experiences project and through the significant consultation that has been undertaken as part of the development of a new national policy framework for alternative care. Combined, this research and policy development will allow us, as a State, for the very first time, to take a strategic approach towards the future of the care system, guided by the lived experience of the young people who have first-hand experience of the care system.

Sentiment score: 0.47