Childcare services 'inaction' not linked to deaths

THE “INACTION” of childcare services was not linked to the cause of the deaths of children in Health Service Executive care, Taoiseach Enda Kenny told the Dáil.

He said that he would like to be able to say no other child would ever die while in the State’s care.

“I cannot do that, obviously,” he said.

Mr Kenny said that Minister for Children Frances Fitzgerald, in accordance with the programme for government, was setting up a dedicated child protection and family support agency. This would provide a stronger and more comprehensive system identifying protection concerns at an early stage and would provide appropriate supports.

“In other words, we will do whatever it takes, in so far as is humanly possible, to ensure this is put in place,” he added.

Responding to the executive report, Mr Kenny said there had been eight deaths since March.

There had been three suicides, one which was as yet uncertain, and one death resulting from a road traffic accident. In two cases, the cause of death had not yet been indicated, he added.

The Taoiseach was responding to Mary Lou McDonald (SF) who said the executive reports represented a “monumental failure” on the part of the State which continued to fail young people and their families.

“We are far away from the ideal of cherishing all the children of the nation equally,” she said.

Mr Kenny said his thoughts were for the families who lost children. He said that leaked information on the tragic death of Tracey Fay to his colleague Alan Shatter, now Minister for Justice, in February of last year, had led to the establishment of the national review panel.

This, he added, had led to the publication of the executive reports setting out the situation to date.

The review panel would continue its work by assessing deaths and serious incidents that took place this year, said the Taoiseach.

Also, Ms Fitzgerald expected to receive in the coming months a further report on the deaths of children that occurred while they were in the State’s care. It was being written by two experts in the field: Nora Gibbons and Dr Geoffrey Shannon.

Ms McDonald said said she was sure everybody in the House and beyond shared the Taoiseach’s expression of sympathy with the families of the children.

“I have to say expressions of sympathy are not enough,” she added. “I also have to say it is obvious why the State cannot guarantee the security and safety of children in its care.”

Ms McDonald said that if the Government was not working to an agenda that ensured every child in care was safe and secure, she wondered what the executive guidelines and the new Department of Children were about.

Mr Kenny said he rejected completely the charge that the State and the Government did not have the care, safety and comfort of children as a priority.

“For the first time since the foundation of the State, a senior Department of Children and Youth Affairs has been founded,” he added. “It took some time to extract all the relevant connections dealing with children so they could be put into that.”

Mr Kenny said that neither Ms McDonald nor anybody else in the House wanted any child to die in care.