Focus Ireland calls for children's ombudsman

Focus Ireland has renewed its calls for the establishment of an office of the Ombudsman for Children following last week’s death of a homeless teenager in a Dublin alleyway.

The Eastern Regional Health Board yesterday announced it would begin an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the case, headed by former High Court judge Mr Frederick Morris.

While welcoming the investigation, Ms Orla Barry, acting CEO of Focus Ireland, said an ombudsman was required to prevent further deaths. She argued that it would ensure earlier independent intervention in cases where care facilities and services available were found to be lacking.

With such intervention, vulnerable young people could be prevented from becoming part of a cycle of homelessness which can leave them open to involvement in crime, sexual abuse, violence and drugs, she said.

The 18-year-old woman, who applied to the High Court last year for suitable care and accommodation for herself and her two children, was found dead in a laneway last week. She apparently died of a drugs overdose. Her children are now in foster care.

Medical sources said she had the mentality of a child and was exceptionally at risk of sexual exploitation.

The High Court was told in April last year that she had been in voluntary care for three years. She had been in 14 different and unsuitable placements, including in bed-and-breakfast accommodation, which she had to leave in the mornings and could only return to in the evenings. As a result, she was forced to wander the streets during the day.