No disciplinary action after Roscommon abuse failures

NO SOCIAL worker or professional involved in the Roscommon abuse and neglect case has been sanctioned on foot of a damning report which highlighted a litany of care failures by social services.

The abuse report, published almost six months ago, was highly critical of how social services handled the case over a 15-year period.

Disturbing details from the case triggered an outcry last year over how the six children had been failed by State authorities. The parents involved in the abuse case have been convicted.

The mother – known only as “Mrs A” – received a sentence of seven years for incest, sexual assault and abuse. The father – “Mr B” – was sentenced to 12½ years for 47 counts of rape and assault.

Social services became aware of the family after the birth of the first child in 1989.

Evidence of neglect mounted during the intervening years, with public health nurses, social workers, neighbours and relatives expressing concern over issues ranging from poor hygiene and neglect to squalid living conditions.

A spokeswoman for the Health Service Executive said yesterday that an internal report into the handling of the case had been completed and a disciplinary process was under way.

Consequently, she added, it was too early to say if any individuals would be disciplined.

However, other HSE sources say that social workers have been advised informally in recent weeks that no formal disciplinary measures are likely.

At the time of the Roscommon report’s publication, social workers close to the case said they felt they were being unfairly blamed for problems caused by a lack of resources and failures in the management of social services.

They argued that they had made more than 30 unsuccessful requests for extra support to management to address a growing “crisis” in child-protection services in the county over a 10-year period.

One of the appeals sought resources to target 10 chronic neglect cases, which included the family central to the abuse report.

A number of social workers also claimed they were told to tone down complaints as management feared the problems would be highlighted in the media.

However, the HSE has pointed out that the report’s findings had “stated clearly that resources were not a factor in this case”.

Following publication of the report in October, the HSE commissioned an internal inquiry to establish if individuals involved in the case carried out their work to an acceptable standard.

The findings of the inquiry were submitted to the regional director of operations for the HSE West in recent months and the trade union Impact has been representing most social workers involved in the case.

The Roscommon abuse report acknowledged difficulties in recruiting staff and that this had an impact at “critical points” during the case.

Following the report, the HSE issued an “unreserved and unequivocal” apology to the six children of the family, admitting it failed to protect them from harm and neglect by their parents.

The HSE said it accepted in full the recommendations of an inquiry team that identified a litany of failures by officials to respond adequately to neglect concerns.