PLANS BY the HSE to publish reports into the deaths of two young people while in State care were cancelled at the last minute yesterday.
The reports into the deaths of David Foley (17) and Tracey Fay (18) from drug overdoses were due to be published by the executive at a media briefing at 3pm yesterday, but the briefing was cancelled just half an hour before it was due to take place. An invitation to the briefing had been issued just before 11.30am.
The HSE said “a number of legal issues” had resulted in the publication of the reports being postponed for the moment.
“Publication date will now be set for the coming weeks once these matters have been resolved,” a HSE spokeswoman said.
This is the second time the publication of the reports has been delayed. Last October their publication was postponed following controversy concerning limited information the HSE was prepared to release in them.
At that time, it planned to publish recommendations of the reports only and not the findings, leading to accusations that it was trying to hide its failures.
It is understood that the executive was prepared to publish additional data from each of the reports. But it would still not be publishing as much detail in the case of Ms Fay as was published by Fine Gael’s spokesman on children Alan Shatter last month.
The report published by Mr Shatter into the death of the 18-year-old mother of two in January 2002 strongly criticised the State’s “chaotic” provision of care accommodation and highlighted the missed opportunities to protect Ms Fay.
The HSE later called on him to withdraw the report from the public record, claiming his publication of the document breached the constitutional rights of her family.
Mr Foley died of a drug overdose in 2005, three years after being admitted into the care system.
He had voluntarily sought care at the age of 14 and ended up being admitted into a series of emergency hostels for homeless teens in Dublin’s city centre. Professionals familiar with his case say he should have received more suitable forms of care, such as family support, which could have allowed him to live at home or in his community.
Last month, amid criticism that the HSE should not be investigating the deaths of children in HSE care, Minister for Children Barry Andrews set up an independent group to examine the deaths of children in the care of the executive over the last decade.
More than 20 children have died in the care system over the past decade, with the majority dying in controversial circumstances.
Last night, Mr Shatter said the HSE’s behaviour was “totally bizarre”.
It was impossible to understand “the extent of the disarray and confusion within the HSE”, he said, particularly in light of the Minister for Children promising to publish the report into the death of Mr Foley within days of Fine Gael releasing the document relating to the death of Ms Fay.
“I think it is time the Minister for Children and the Government told us exactly what is going on,” he added.