THE NUMBER of children who died while in State care over the past decade is likely to be close to the figure of 23 previously given to the Government, the Health Services Executive (HSE) has said.
Bernard Gloster, a senior manager at the HSE who was given the task of drawing up a list requested by the Government, said yesterday he did not expect the figure to change substantially when it is announced today.
Mr Gloster said full list would be provided of the children known to the HSE, who have died since January 1st, 2000, to the Minister for Children Barry Andrews next Friday.
His comments follow severe criticism of the HSE, which has not been able to provide definitive figures on the number of children who died in State care to Minister for Children Barry Andrews. It has also refused to hand over any files of children who died while in State care to an independent review group established by Mr Andrews.
Mr Gloster said there had been “considerable confusion” in the media over the issue, which threatened to undermine the integrity of the HSE’s childcare services.
He said one reason for the delay in providing definitive figures was a decision to change the definition of children who die while in State care to include those who continue to receive aftercare services when they turn 18 years. These services, which typically include supported accommodation, help vulnerable children who have been in care between the age of 18 and 21 to move into adulthood.
The HSE’s commitment to confirm the number of children who have died while in care follows the intervention of Taoiseach Brian Cowen, who has faced sustained criticism in the Dáil over his Government’s failure to obtain definitive information from the HSE.
Last Sunday, the Sunday Business Postreported the total number of children who died while in State care could be anything up to 200.
The HSE is now drawing up a list of children “known to” HSE services, who have died over the past decade. Mr Gloster said work was continuing with officials at the Department of Health to provide a definition of what this actually meant.
He said this process should be concluded by Monday and he hoped a complete list would be drawn up and given to the Government by next Friday.
Mr Gloster said this was a very difficult task because it involved checking manual records and relying on the local knowledge of social workers. He said the HSE was reforming the way it keeps records. He said the HSE welcomed the Government’s intention to pass emergency legislation to remove the legal impediments preventing the HSE from handing over files on children’s deaths.
Minister for Health Mary Harney told RTÉ last night legislation was being prepared and would be enacted before the summer recess.
- An application was made in the District Court yesterday in respect of the late Daniel McAnaspie.After legal arguments the application was adjourned until a date in June for legal submissions.