ANALYSIS:The social services here said it would be in best interests of Tracey Fay and her unborn baby to remain in England, writes Carl O'Brien, Social Affairs Correspondent
BRITISH SOCIAL services responded much more promptly and decisively to the needs of a Dublin teenager who later died while in the care of social services in Ireland, according to a report commissioned by the Health Service Executive.
Tracey Fay, an 18-year-old mother of two from Coolock, Dublin, died of a drugs overdose in January 2002 after spending four years in the care of her local health authority.
She also lived for a time in Wiltshire in England for brief periods when she was aged eight and 14. On both occasions, she came to the attention of social services.
A report commissioned by an independent childcare expert into the care provided for Ms Fay says her name was placed on the Wiltshire Child Protection Register shortly after arriving at the age of eight and that she was in regular contact with social workers.
Similarly, when she was aged 14, social workers were quick to respond to her needs and offer various care options.
She was later voluntarily placed by her mother into the care of social services in Ireland before her 15th birthday.
This occurred shortly after Tracey's grandmother - with whom she had been living for several years - died.
However, the report highlights a series of failures and missed opportunities by the child protection system in Dublin to provide her with proper care and accommodation between the ages of 14 and 18.
Instead of giving her stable accommodation, it provided a "chaotic" response including 20 different BBs, hospital beds, a bench in an AE ward, and two different dedicated services over a four-year period.
She spent much of her time wandering the streets, the report notes, as she was not allowed access to BB or emergency care accommodation during the day.
By contrast, the independent report says, the "response of the English social services to concerns about Tracey ... was very different, more decisive and more prompt in 1991 when her name was placed on the Wiltshire child protection register ..."
The report says there is no record that social services in Ireland responded to a request by English social services for information about Tracey in 1991.
While still in the care of Irish authorities, she travelled to England at the age of 16 when she was pregnant with her first child. Once again, she came to the attention of Wiltshire social services within weeks.
The report says that when they were advised that Tracey was planning to return to Dublin, they received a "swift" response from the Dublin social services.
The letter read: "We are not sanctioned to recruit new staff or procure premises for Tracey. Obviously in the light of this situation we would recommend that she remain in England...
"It is felt that since Tracey would have no family or support networks in Ireland, it would be in her and her unborn baby's best interest to remain in England."
On her return to Ireland, the report says there was a series of "missed opportunities" by Irish authorities to provide her with therapeutic services.
In total, there were six documented cases of recommendations for her to be assessed by health professionals which did not occur within a reasonable time frame.
A two-year delay in getting a full psychological assessment "undoubtedly led to delays in ensuring her needs, abilities and competencies" could be established, the report says.
Ms Fay's uncle Damien Fay said yesterday he wanted the HSE report published in order to show where the system went wrong.