Child and Family Agency
Dail Éireann — 2026-04-23
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Norma Foley (FF), Kerry

I join with the Deputy in saying what all we saw and witnessed on the programme last night has been incredibly upsetting in terms of the young people who were part of it and the experiences that they shared. I want to acknowledge that.
I want to acknowledge also the staff that work with them every day. This past week, I met with social workers and social care workers. I am very conscious of the work of the foster care system and foster care families.
These are very complex situations. The vast majority of children and young people in State care are in foster care or residential care. Some 96% of children are either in foster care or residential care. Nine out of ten young people who are in foster care and residential care are in education, further training, apprenticeship or whatever the case might be.
I want to acknowledge too - I will not reference any specific individual case that arose last night - that in the main Tusla is working with young people in care coming from really difficult, traumatic and complex situations through no fault of their own.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-04-23/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-27T06:54:48+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-04-23