Fine Gael Children Spokesperson, Alan Shatter TD, today (Sunday) said:  “It defies belief in this day and age that any child could be placed in foster care by the HSE without proper assessment and vetting of the potential foster parents.  The alarming report published today that children in the HSE Southern Region have been so placed yet again demands an explanation from the Minister for Children as to the nature of the oversight exercised by him and his Department over our child care services.  I am calling on the Minister to publicly clarify the total number of children presently in fosterage in the Southern Region where no vetting has occurred; to state what steps are being immediately taken to ensure the appropriateness of the foster care placements and to protect the welfare of the children concerned; and to state whether similar practices have occurred in other HSE regions and if so the number of children involved.  I am also calling on the Minister to state the number of children presently in foster care for whom no comprehensive care plan currently exists and the number, if any, who presently have no allocated social worker who maintains contact with the foster parents and child.

“Today’s extraordinary revelation yet again shines a spotlight on the dysfunctional and chaotic nature of our child care services and confirms that the Government, the current Minister for Children and his predecessors have scandalously failed to ensure the proper protection of children at risk.”

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