The Government has accepted a recommendation to replace ‘discretionary payments’ to foster carers with an increase in allowances for foster children.
The recommendation came today in a report by the working group on foster care which highlighting the problems within service.
Currently foster carers are given a £75.55 per week allowance for each child in their care, but according to the Minister for Children Ms Mary Hanafin, this system is causing difficulties.
Ms Hanafin told ireland.comif a carer wants to buy a communion dress or bicycle for their foster child they must go their health board "cap in hand".
This situation, she said, was unsatisfactory and would be remedied by an increase in the allowance per foster child.
Allowances for children under 12 will increase from £75.55 to £200 per week and from £85.75 to £220 for children over 12.
Also recommended in the report was a call for the service’s standards of practice to be developed to the highest level and for the shared rearing of traveller children.
Ms Hanafin told ireland.comat present "there are no national standards" in place and foster carers "don't know what to aspire to".
But she said under the recommendations of today’s report standards will be outlined health board by health board in an attempt to provide guidelines for carers.
Ms Hanafin also said there are currently 23 traveller children in foster care and due to difficulties reconciling settled life with travelling life, there are "implications for their education" as the children are often moved on from one area and school to another.
She said where traveller children need to be in foster care effort will be made to provide a shared service and link with the travelling community.
The working group was established two years following a 66 per cent increase in the number of children in need of foster care between 1998 and 1999.