Foster Carers 4 Change

Welcome to all of our new followers! Who are we? We're a group of foster carers who've formed this #grassrootsmovement to improve #fostercare in Ireland for foster carers, children in care and #careexperienced young people. We're passionate about positive change 💪 Please RT ❤️

@rachael_mo80289 @GarNob @ClaireKerrane @mattcarthy @MarkWall1 @peadartoibin It shouldn’t be one or the other. Children need safe emergency care and proper placements now, but foster carers also need proper recognition, supports, and pension security. A system that relies on carers to hold everything together while delaying both is failing everyone.

@m4cif @GarNob @ClaireKerrane @mattcarthy @MarkWall1 @peadartoibin I am all for pension recognition it would be great to feel valued. But I do think those children like the ones on to last night need emergency care resources proper places to live and find all does young venerable girls off the street. Then go for our well earned pension.

After last night’s RTÉ Prime Time: “Each of those situations are repeated many times” @GarNob We are recycling crises instead of fixing the causes Give foster carers pension recognition & real supports @ClaireKerrane @mattcarthy @RuiariOMurchu @MarkWall1 @peadartoibin

@NormaFoleyTD1 @tusla @OCO_ireland @caoilfhionnanna @barryokellyrte @ClaireKerrane @BarryHeneghan2 @Aidan_Farrelly_ @ChildRightsIRL

Minister @NormaFoleyTD If “each of those situations are repeated many times”, then the system isn’t improving. Are foster carer numbers actually increasing in real terms? When will pension recognition be addressed?

Children removed from severe neglect don’t just “recover”—they need years of stability, care and skill. Foster carers provide that, often at huge personal cost. We ask a lot of fostering and overlook their pension @NormaFoleyTD1 @tusla @daracalleary con-telegraph.ie/2026/03/17/har…

Welcome news! thejournal.ie/tusla-u-turn-d… Credit to Tusla for listening, and thanks to carers, TDs & the minister. A strong example of the kind of therapeutic support children in care need across the country. @tusla @NormaFoleyTD1 @CathCallaghanTD @thejournal_ie

With significant frontline experience, Foster carers will be watching closely to see whether new leadership treats carers as true partners in the care system — not simply a resource it depends on. @tusla @NormaFoleyTD1 gov.ie/en/department-…

“When women thrive, economies grow,” says Paschal. Yet when he was Minister for Finance, foster carers (majority women) were left without pension protection, after decades caring for the State’s most vulnerable children. Pension justice is what matters. #InternationalWomensDay

This issue isn’t new. Foster carers in S Tipperary, Kilkenny, Carlow were informed in Jan that the St Bernard’s Therapeutic Foster Care Support Team will be withdrawn in March. Carers have united in calling 4 reinstatement. thejournal.ie/tusla-the-jour… @NormaFoleyTD1 @thejournal_ie

Foster carers in S Tipp, Carlow & Kilkenny spoke out against Tusla withdrawing St Bernard’s therapeutic fostering support, highlighting its vital role 4 children with trauma & attachment needs. TDs & IFCA backing carers @CathCallaghanTD @JMcGuinnessTD @NormaFoleyTD1 @KateDuggan8

Today’s RTÉ Radio 1 foster care segment featured only carers from Fostering First Ireland — owned by Key Assets Group, a for-profit agency. Listeners weren’t told. RTÉ should disclose this and provide balance. #Transparency @RTERadio1 rte.ie/radio/radio1/c…

St. Bernard’s isn’t just a local issue If specialist therapeutic fostering models can be closed citing “low uptake” — where access was controlled and training unpaid what does that mean nationally 4 children in care? Continuity matters @NormaFoleyTD1 @Tusla @CathCallaghanTD

Tusla calls for cross-department support for children in care. Free travel should be automatic — a practical step to back kids and foster families. @tusla @welfare_ie @DeptCDE

Foster care isn’t a “job,” yet carers in Ireland have no pension, no voice, no legal cover, and funding bogged down in bureaucracy. Reform means real pay, not more admin. @ArleneHarris11

@GarNob A child missing from care highlights the difference in approach: residential settings use supervision and protocol; foster carers work through trust and connection. Should professional foster care play a stronger role?

Vulnerable minor who should be in special care absconded from private accommodation – The Irish Times irishtimes.com/crime-law/cour…

@caoilfhionnanna St Bernard’s Fostering Support has provided over a decade of specialist therapeutic work 4 children in care. Ending it abruptly & shifting responsibilities onto carers undermines continuity of care. What safeguards are in place 4 children mid‑therapeutic program?

Tusla’s letter to foster carers highlights a deeper problem: consultation after decisions are made, and specialist work shifted onto carers. Children & carers are left to fill gaps trained professionals once handled. This is why trust is breaking down @tusla @DeptCDE @1calmvoice

If you remove trained specialists and call peer support a replacement, the only real change is that children get less. Foster carers are not therapists — children in care need continuity and professional support. @1calmvoice @JackWhiteJ @IrishTimes @NormaFoleyTD1 @KateDuggan8

When a carer speaks about paying privately, Tusla’s reaction is a public contradiction. Lived experience dismissed, policy gaps exposed. @JoshCrosbie3 @m4cif ”Examining the services provided by the Child and Family Agency newstalk.com/podcasts/clair… via @NewstalkFM

In the UK private equity is extracting huge sums from foster services — here, private agencies cost Tusla €58,000 per child per year versus €17k when Tusla places directly, all carers stuck on the same low allowance. We need to ask who benefits? observer.co.uk/news/national/…