Tusla spent almost €40m on private foster care last year

The agency says it does not hold information on how private providers divide State funding between foster carer payments, administration, management costs and profit

Tusla pays providers an all-inclusive placement fee. 

Tusla spent almost €40m on private foster care placements in 2025, but says it does not know how private providers allocate the public funding they receive between foster carer payments, administration, management costs, and profit.

Provisional figures supplied by the agency show spending on private foster care providers reached €39.3m in 2025, up from €33m in 2024 and €32.6m in 2023.

A further €13.2m had already been spent by the end of April 2026, indicating expenditure remains at a high level.

At the end of April, 5,068 children were living in foster care nationally, Tusla confirmed.

Tusla said 637 children, or 13% of all foster care placements, were being cared for through private providers, while the remaining 87% were placed with foster carers recruited directly by Tusla.

The agency confirmed that independent agency Origins Foster Care Services was providing placements for 62 children in March 2026, in line with figures contained in a recent Hiqa inspection report.

The disclosure comes amid ongoing scrutiny of the growing role of private foster care providers within a system that has traditionally relied on foster carers recruited directly by Tusla.

Public foster carers received a payment of €400 per week for children aged under 12, and €425 for children over 12.

Funding has also been allocated for an initial placement payment as well as a mileage scheme.

Asked whether Tusla could provide a breakdown of how payments to private fostering agencies are divided between foster carer allowances, social work services, recruitment, training, administration, management, and profit, a spokesperson said it “does not hold a breakdown of how service providers allocate expenditure across the categories mentioned above it does not hold that information”.

The five agencies officially approved by the Tusla Alternative Care Inspection and Monitoring service are: 

• Orchard Fostering;
•  Five Rivers Ireland;
• Origins Foster Care;
• Fostering First Ireland;
• Foster Care Ireland.

The agency said the contractual model does not require it to track how each provider allocates the funding internally.

Instead, Tusla said it pays providers an all-inclusive placement fee. 

That fee covers the standard fostering allowance set by the minister, along with the provider’s own service costs, including recruitment, assessment, training, support, supervision, governance, and administration. 

Tusla said this arrangement is intended to allow agencies to deliver the full range of services needed to support foster placements.

It said in a statement: “The contracts with a non-statutory foster care agency are actively monitored and regularly reviewed to ensure that services are delivered in line with statutory requirements and national standards in accordance with agreed service specifications with a focus on providing safe, effective care, and positive outcomes for children and young people representing best value for money principles in line with the National Financial Regulations, 2014."

Tusla also confirmed that foster carers recruited through private agencies receive the same standard fostering allowance as foster carers recruited directly by the State.

However, it did not say whether the overall cost of a placement through a private provider is higher than a placement arranged through Tusla’s own fostering service.

The agency said it carried out a cost analysis during contract discussions in 2025, but it did not disclose the findings.

It also did not indicate whether the analysis concluded that private foster care represented value for money compared with placements arranged directly by Tusla.

It stated that the agency does not require private providers to disclose profit margins as part of their contractual arrangements. Tusla said: “Non-statutory foster care services operate under company law and must comply with the requirements of that legislation regarding submission of relevant documentation to the Companies Office.”

Responding to questions about oversight, Tusla said contracts with private providers are actively monitored to ensure compliance with statutory requirements, national standards and agreed service specifications.

The statement said all children placed with private providers remain under Tusla’s statutory responsibility and continue to have an allocated Tusla social worker, regardless of whether the foster placement itself is arranged through a private agency.

The agency said it continues to use private providers only after it has exhausted options to place children with relatives or within its own pool of foster carers. 

It said this approach reflects the need to secure placements quickly when children require immediate care and no suitable in-house placement is available.

Tusla said demand for placements has increased significantly in recent years. It cited a 10% rise in child protection referrals in 2025 and a 500% increase in demand for placements for unaccompanied minors since 2022, both of which have placed additional pressure on the foster care system.

The agency also outlined efforts to expand its own fostering service. 

It said foster carer recruitment has increased over the past three years, with 173 new carers approved in 2023, 210 in 2024, and 223 in 2025.

Over the same period, 770 foster carers left the service, although Tusla said annual departures have begun to decline.

Origins foster care agency told the Irish Examiner:“There is a huge and growing need for foster carers at present and Origins, along with Tusla and other private agencies, have been working together to try to maintain and grow the number of foster placements available for children in care, without which the Irish care system would not be able to operate.

“A high level of support is required by a dedicated team of social workers, administrators, and therapists in order to support foster carers in their roles and to work collaboratively with all professionals involved to ensure that placements for children in care are stable, high quality, and meeting all their needs, which are often complex.”