€90m a year to keep children in care

THE State is spending almost €90 million a year to keep about 400 children in residential care, at an average cost of €4,294 per child per week.

In addition, a small number of children are sent overseas for treatment at an average cost to the taxpayer of €4,692 per child per week. Last year, the cost of sending nine young people out of the state for treatment to locations in Britain, and Nebraska in the USA, cost €2.2m, almost €250,000 per child.

Here at home, the average annual cost of keeping a child in care is more than €220,000.