Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 28 June 2017
267. Deputy Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the number of cases in which placements broke down after an application was made for a child to be made a ward of court until 18 years of age over the past five years in which that child was in the placement for six years previous to the application. [30445/17]
View answer268. Deputy Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the number of cases in which placements broke down after an application was made for a child to be made a ward of court until 18 years of age over the past five years in which that child was in the placement for five years previous to the application. [30446/17]
View answer269. Deputy Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the number of cases in which placements broke down after an application was made for a child to be made a ward of court until 18 years of age over the past five years in which that child was in the placement for four years previous to the application. [30447/17]
View answer270. Deputy Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the number of cases in which placements broke down after an application was made for a child to be made a ward of court until 18 years of age over the past five years in which that child was in the placement for three years previous to the application. [30448/17]
View answer271. Deputy Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the number of cases in which placements broke down after an application was made for a child to be made a ward of court until 18 years of age over the past five years in which that child was in the placement for two years previous to the application. [30449/17]
View answer272. Deputy Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the number of cases in which placements broke down after an application was made for a child to be made a ward of court until 18 years of age over the past five years in which that child was in the placement for one year previous to the application. [30450/17]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 267 to 272, inclusive, together.
The Court Service of Ireland outlines on its website the reasons why it might be considered necessary to take a child into wardship. The most common situation is where a minor has been awarded substantial damages by a court and has special housing or care needs. If a house is being purchased from his funds, the house must be registered in his own name and it is necessary for him to be taken into wardship so that the legal formalities on his behalf in this regard can be complied with.
Neither my Department nor Tusla has a role with Wards of Court, who are the responsibility of the Courts Service. If a child or young person in the care of the State is a Ward of Court he or she receives services and supports based on the Statutory Care Plan developed following an assessment of needs, carried out on coming into care and reviewed in accordance with the Child Care Regulations 1995.
The Deputy may be referring to children who are the subject of a Care Order, sought by the Child and Family Agency under Section 18 of the Child Care Act, 1991. Tusla has this information in relation to each individual child to whom it applies but does not collate the figures at a national level.
The Deputy may be interested to know that Ireland has a high level of stability of placement for children in care and compares well with neighbouring countries. Latest figures available on placement stability show that in December 2015, 132 children in care were in their third placement or higher during the previous 12 months. This represents 2% of the overall number of children in care. In the same period, England reports 10% of their children are in their third or higher placement, indicating that placement in Ireland is substantially more stable than for children in care in England.
