The Irish Foster Care Association Launches Pre-Budget Submission 2027 Calling for Strategic Investment in Foster Care

Five key measures would strengthen foster care, improve outcomes for children and deliver long-term savings for the State

2^nd July 2026 – The Irish Foster Care Association (IFCA), the national organisation representing foster care across Ireland, today launched its Pre-Budget Submission 2027, calling on Government to recognise foster care as a strategic national asset and to invest accordingly.

At the end of 2025, approximately 5,058 of the 5,879 children in State care (86%) were living in foster or relative care placements, making foster care the backbone of Ireland’s alternative care system.

Foster carers deliver one of the most effective, compassionate and cost-efficient public services in the State. Every day they provide safe, stable and nurturing homes for children and young people who cannot live with their birth families. They support children’s education, health, wellbeing and development while maintaining vital connections with families, schools and communities.

However, the sustainability of foster care is under increasing pressure. Rising living costs, the growing complexity of children’s needs, recruitment challenges, placement instability and increasing demands on foster families are placing significant strain on the system.

Launching the submission, Catherine Morely, CEO, the Irish Foster Care Association, said:

“Foster care is not a peripheral service. It is the foundation of Ireland’s care system and provides better outcomes for children while delivering exceptional value for the State. If we are serious about supporting vulnerable children and ensuring the sustainability of foster care, we must invest now. The cost of failing to do so will ultimately be borne by children, families and the wider public purse.”

Investing in Foster Care Makes Economic Sense

Research consistently demonstrates that children achieve better outcomes when they experience stability, attachment, continuity and family-based care. Foster carers provide these foundations every day.

In Spring 2026, IFCA commissioned an independent economic assessment examining the cost of failing to invest in foster care. The findings reinforce what practitioners, policymakers and foster carers already know: investing in foster care is both socially responsible and fiscally prudent.

Current estimates indicate that foster care costs approximately €22,000 per child annually. By comparison, private residential care can cost in excess of €350,000 per child each year, while Special Emergency Arrangements can exceed €416,000 annually.

Every foster placement that is sustained represents not only a positive outcome for a child but also an immediate and long-term saving to the State.

Investment in foster care should therefore be viewed not as expenditure, but as prevention. When foster care weakens, the costs do not disappear; they reappear elsewhere in the system at substantially higher financial and human cost.

IFCA’s Five Key Asks for Budget 2027

The Association is seeking investment in five practical and affordable measures:

1. Additional Operational Funding for IFCA

To strengthen the Association’s capacity to provide advocacy, support, training and research and to ensure foster carers have a strong national voice.

2. State Pension and PRSI Recognition for Long-Term Foster Carers

To recognise the invaluable contribution made by long-term foster carers and ensure they are not disadvantaged in retirement because of years spent caring for vulnerable children and young people.

3. Remove the Means Test for the Back to School Clothing and Footwear Allowance

To ensure all children in care can access this important support and help meet the increasing costs associated with education.

4. Align Aftercare Payments with Foster Care Allowances Until Age 23

To provide young people leaving care with greater stability and continuity, supporting them and their transition to adulthood.

5. Index-Link Foster Care Allowance Increases

To ensure foster care allowances keep pace with inflation and the rising costs of caring, protecting the sustainability of placements and supporting recruitment and retention.

These proposals form part of a longer-term three-year strategy to strengthen foster care in Ireland. They are supported by Tusla, have received support from members of the recently established Cross-Party Foster Care Group, and align with wider Programme for Government commitments relating to children, families, education and community wellbeing.

The Association emphasised that these proposals extend beyond child protection policy and engage education, social protection, public expenditure, housing, aftercare and workforce policy. IFCA is therefore calling for a whole-of-government response that recognises foster care as a strategic national asset and invests accordingly.

You can read the full submission here.