The crisis in secure care for the most at-risk children has intensified since the murder of teenager Daniel McAnaspie, social workers involved in his care say.
An inquest into the boy’s death returned a verdict of unlawful killing on Thursday.
It also heard that the needs of at-risk children are becoming more complex. High Court judge John Jordan recently described such children as “frequently broken, traumatised, actively suicidal”.
Just 14 of 26 secure-care beds are operational due to “staff shortages”, Meath Coroner’s Court heard on Thursday.
Popular Connemara food truck Misunderstood Heron avoids closure with relocation to Mayo tourist spot
Blue flags: Record number of Irish beaches and marinas win award for 2025
John Collison of Stripe: ‘I am baffled by companies doing an about-face on social initiatives’
Even Claire Byrne is alarmed by what she hears about life for Irish teenagers
A young person who is deemed to be at such risk to themselves, or others, as to need therapeutic residential care may be detained in secure care by order of the High Court.
Daniel McAnaspie was 17 when he was murdered on February 26th, 2010. He had been known to care services since birth.
The inquest heard that in the last 15 months of his life, Daniel had 20 care placements, including one he could not access until after midnight.
His badly decomposed remains were found in a drainage ditch in Co Meath by a farmer in May 2010. In 2017, two men were convicted in connection with his death, one of murder and the other of manslaughter.
There are currently four young people who are the subject of a High Court Order and are awaiting a placement in special care
— Tusla
Daniel’s inquest heard he pleaded with social workers to “lock him up” because he was terrified of drug dealers to whom he owed €2,000. Social workers made multiple applications to the HSE’s special care committee for secure care as his life spiralled into chaos. Their applications were refused.
Tusla said on Thursday: “There are currently four young people who are the subject of a High Court Order and are awaiting a placement in special care. For these young people, we are currently unable to fully meet our statutory obligations regarding special care.
“We share the concern this causes for the High Court, for professionals involved in the care of these young people and most importantly, for the young people themselves and their families.”
Mark Smith, Tusla’s director of special care services, worked with Daniel in a high-support unit around 2006. He told the inquest he expected one secure-care bed to become free before the weekend.
“I would love to see a situation where we would have all 26 beds [fully staffed],” said Mr Smith.
Asked whether improved pay in secure-care work would help, he said: “The pay is always a challenge... If the pay was significantly better I am sure we would have better retention rates.”
He said children were presenting who are in need of detention for their own safety. These cases are “increasingly complex”, said Mr Smith, pointing to the need for “greater resources” and “a greater level of care”.
Pól Ó Murchu, solicitor for Daniel’s guardian ad litem, said: “The evidence is that this situation at the moment is worse than what it was at the time of Daniel’s death”.
My brother would be still alive today if they had done their job right
— Cathriona McAnaspie
Avril Connolly, Daniel’s social worker at the time of his death, told the inquest her work with him involved “considerable firefighting and emergency responding to crisis events”.
No longer working in the same area of child protection, she told the inquest: “I thank God that I don’t have to work with children that require secure care currently”.
The six-person jury made 13 recommendations aimed at improving outcomes for the most at-risk children in care, including that the State carries out “a review of its funding to child protection and welfare services delivered by Tusla to ensure that the agency has sufficient resourcing to keep children safe”.
Cathriona McAnaspie, Daniel’s older sister, said the family thought of him every day.
She said: “He was loving. He was our brother, nephew. He was one of our babies. The HSE has a lot to answer. My brother would be still alive today if they had done their job right. So yes, I am very angry with them and I hope no family will ever, ever have to go through this again, ever.”
