New act sets up commissioner for foster carers to report possible wrongdoing

Tusla’s figures show there are 4,000 foster carers and 5,171 children in the care of the State. File picture

Foster carers will now be able to send any concerns of possible wrongdoing to a Protected Disclosures Commissioner.

Up until now, foster carers had no whistleblower avenue within Tusla, because they are not regarded as employees. However, following a major overhaul of the Protected Disclosures Act, which came into force on January 1, foster carers can lodge concerns directly with the Protected Disclosures Commissioner.