Minister to focus on those who leave State care at 18

MINISTER FOR Children Frances Fitzgerald will be focusing on the provision of ongoing assistance for children who leave formal State care at 18, Taoiseach Enda Kenny has said in the wake of the deaths of 27 young people in the past 12 months involved in State care.

He told the Dáil the question of aftercare for young adults was a very sensitive issue, but legislation dealing with this was under Government consideration.

Mr Kenny was responding during Leaders’ Questions to chairman of the Independent TDs technical group Finian McGrath, who said that “if these young people were from affluent or wealthy families, just imagine the response and the outcry in this country”.

The Health Service Executive now records the deaths of young people in State care, and the deaths of young adults between 18 and 21 years who were previously in State care or were receiving aftercare services. While the majority of deaths were from natural causes, seven were from suicide, four were drug-related and two were homicides.

“We now have a very serious situation where young people are dying while under child protection services. Why is there no outcry when these poor and vulnerable children die?” Mr McGrath asked.

Mr Kenny said one of the decisions he had made “is to appoint a full Cabinet position dealing with children and youth affairs. And you can take it that the Minister for Children will report to the House on this matter after consultation with the Minister for Health and the Minister for Justice.”

He said that “the question of young adults receiving aftercare has been a very sensitive issue in that there were claims that there wasn’t any real interest in looking after children once they passed that age and became young adults. I’d like to think that the State at a minimum should have a real interest in seeing that somebody who’s in State care and who leaves State care gets continued assistance and help to live a life.”

He said the Children First Bill, dealing with a number of these policy issues, was under consideration and “will be dealt with by the Minister for Children. It’s a very difficult position, when you speak to one of these young people who’s actually left State care and find themselves lonely, isolated and seemingly without help. I think we’ve got to change that and obviously that’s an area the new Minister will focus in on.”

Mr McGrath also pressed for the Children and Parental Responsibility Bill to be introduced in the wake of the 27 deaths. He said the courts were being “increasingly asked to rule on the rights of grandparents where parents cannot care for their children. Children are suffering because of this. The solution lies in the Children and Parental Responsibility Bill.”

After Mr McGrath referred to the suicides of seven of the young people involved in care, the Taoiseach said suicide “doesn’t just affect persons from more disadvantaged areas of society. Those who live in so-called affluent homes or affluent areas are also subject to the tragic phenomenon of suicide.” Mr McGrath said he had to emphasise that “a higher percentage come from disadvantaged families and areas”.