Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 20 February 2024
88. Deputy Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire asked the Minister for Social Protection whether she has considered the situation of those providing kinship care, and the discrepancy between the financial supports provided to kinship carers by comparison to non-familial foster carers. [7915/24]
View answerOne of the roles of 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 guardians payment. 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.
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, where that child is defined as an orphan under social welfare legislation. These payments were known as orphan’s payments until they were re-named in July 2006, in recognition of the fact that the original remit of the scheme had been extended to include certain children who had not lost both parents through bereavement.
Guardians Payment is currently paid in respect of 2,389 children at the weekly rate of €215 per child: the highest rate of weekly child income support paid by my Department.
Responsibility for fostering arrangements rests with the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth and the provision of family support services lies with Tusla, the Child and Family Agency.
While it is acknowledged that there are perceived similarities between guardian’s payments and foster care allowance payments, the schemes differ fundamentally in their purpose. As outlined, the aim of the guardian’s payment scheme administered by my Department is the provision of income support. However, the Child and Family Agency in exercising its functions has a broader range of responsibilities and considerations in respect of children in the care of the State than the provision of income support alone.
Foster care allowance for a child up to 12 years is currently at the weekly rate of €350, increasing to €377 for those over 12 years. Any proposal to align the weekly rate of guardian’s payment to that of foster care allowance would have to be considered by Government in an overall budgetary context.
I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
