STATEMENT:RELATIVES OF the children at the centre of the Roscommon childcare case have said they are concerned that four of the children remain in the care of the HSE West.
In a statement, issued last night through the support group One in Four, the relatives said that while they saw the report as “fully addressing the incompetent decisions made by the HSE”, they were not confident of the ability of the HSE West to care for vulnerable children.
They described their experience of the case as “a painful journey for this family” and said that the publication of the report “shines a light on our hellish reality”. Welcoming the publication of the report, the relatives said: “We see this report as fully addressing the key problems within the HSE and the incompetent decisions made over a 15-year period which utterly failed to protect and listen to the children.”
However, they said they were “disappointed with the little time we were given to review the report before it was published”.
The statement continued: “We have concerns that four of the children are still in the care of the HSE West as our experience has left us with no confidence in their ability to care for vulnerable children.
“We have witnessed little change in the HSE in the last 20 years. Unless these recommendations are taken seriously and fully implemented, we see little hope for children in the future. We believe the individuals who failed to act in this case must now be held accountable.”
The relatives said they recognised they were “not the only family the HSE has failed”, but they hoped this was the last time the recommendations would be ignored.
“We want a promise to our family that a children’s constitutional referendum will happen in next six months. Children can no longer be ignored.
“We would appreciate if the media would respect our privacy at this time,” the statement concluded.
