There needs to be more support for foster carers to ensure the number of children in residential care does not increase, according to the Irish Foster Care Association (IFCA). The proportion of children in foster care out of all children in the care of the State has declined from 91% in 2020 to 87% in 2025, raising concerns about reliance on more costly residential placements.
Speaking on RTÉ’s This Week, IFCA Chief Executive Corrinne Hasson emphasized both the financial and emotional differences between foster and residential care. She said that caring for a child over 12 in foster care costs the State €425 per week, compared with roughly €8,000 per week for a child in a residential facility. “The costs are absolutely staggering,” she said, noting that the impact on the child is equally significant.
“In a residential setting, you don’t have a family to look after you—you have staff who come and go,” Ms Hasson said. “They don’t know you as much as a foster family would. Children are moved about—they’re just getting settled and then they are moved again. The impact of that for a child who has already been removed from their family home is hugely traumatic.”
Ms Hasson also highlighted the emotional difficulties children in foster care face during Christmas, when they are separated from their birth families. She said fostering families strive to maintain routines and create a festive environment for children, reassuring them that they can enjoy the holiday like any other child. She also praised the birth children of foster carers, whom she referred to as “children who foster,” for opening their homes and helping make Christmas special for their foster siblings.
The IFCA chief pointed to challenges in recruiting foster carers, citing modern housing demands, more parents working full-time, and the need for separate rooms for foster children. She suggested that fostering arrangements should be adaptable to modern lifestyles, with single parents and other alternatives offering potential solutions.
Recently, the State increased the Foster Care Allowance by €70, the first rise in 15 years. While Ms Hasson welcomed the increase, she said more support is needed to address the rising cost of living. She also pointed out that the allowance does not include contributions to the State pension system, even for long-term carers who may have looked after dozens of children over their lifetime.
“Foster carers provide an invaluable service,” Ms Hasson said. “We know that children are better placed at home with a foster carer—someone who gets them up in the morning, knows what they want for breakfast, gets them ready for school, and is there for them at the end of the day. That’s where we want children to be, that’s where they thrive.”
The IFCA is calling on the government to provide more comprehensive financial and practical support for foster carers, emphasizing that bolstering home-based care can reduce the growing reliance on residential facilities and improve outcomes for vulnerable children.
