Sir, – There is understandable questioning of the report into “childhood” deaths of persons while in the care of the HSE.
While I am no expert on such matters, my wife and I have firsthand experience of caring for a young person with difficulties.
Despite our best efforts and continuing concern for our youngster’s inbuilt problems when facing up to life, all ended in tragedy. We could see it coming from afar, but were powerless.
What then the supervision and dedication required by HSE workers to prevent the 10 or 12 life disasters of all young persons entrusted to them?
Some of these “casualties” may be already beyond saving when the State is called in to take them under its control, so it should come perhaps as a surprise that so many somehow manage to “escape” into a meaningful adulthood. – Yours, etc,
LOUIS SMYTH,
Crosthwaite Park,
Dun Laoghaire,
Co Dublin.
A chara, – I recently became a father for the first time and I can honestly say I felt physically sick reading the coverage of the deaths of the 196 children in State care: it’s simply unfathomable. I hear there are rumours of individuals being disciplined, but my question is: will there be 196 files sent to the DPP for prosecution? – Is mise,
JASON POWER,
Maxwell Road,
Rathgar,
Dublin 6.
Sir, – Let me tell you a story. A 12-year-old with emotional and behavioural problems is referred to the social work department of the HSE. A social worker at the front line takes personal history details and completes a comprehensive initial assessment. She discovers that there is no adult available, willing or capable of offering him/her adequate care and protection within his family or community. The professional, university-educated social worker prepares a file – notes are well written, personal details are accurate – the file is stored in a secure cabinet. End of story.
Today in the Irish State there are no specialist units available to provide adequate care and protection to young people who have significant emotional or behavioural problems (approximately 2 per cent of the 6,500 children in State care). Many are sent abroad to the UK.
Why is it that those who govern this State cannot identify the solution to this problem? I hope that Carl O’Brien, Fintan O’Toole, Fergus Finlay, Emily Logan, Gordan Jeyes, Francis FitzGerald and Irish citizens will take note.
Let us salute the many successes of the child protection services. Let us applaud the many children who have done so well in State care. Let us acknowledge when things go wrong. Let us focus not only on the failures. Let us provide the solutions.
Discite justitiam moniti – justitia virtutum regina (having been warned, learn justice – justice is the queen of virtues) – Yours, etc,
Sir, – Fintan O’Toole’s article (Weekend Review, June 23rd) displays a naivety similar to that of the first Dáil when it declared the first duty of the republic was “to make provision for the physical, mental and spiritual wellbeing of the children”. Fine words, laudable sentiment and difficult to argue against.
But in what way is the republic – or the State – to ensure the physical, spiritual and mental well being of the children? Surely in the first instance it is the responsibility of the family – or at least the parents – to ensure the safety and happiness of their children? Families who struggle with this are surely deserving of support from the State, the church (whose own record on child protection is, to say the least, lamentable) and charitable organisations such as Barnardos, but if such intervention fails, we should not be surprised if the outcome is tragic.
Children belong – not in care homes or secure units – but in families (be they one-parent or two), where they can be cared for and learn how to care for others. The State has several roles and functions. Child-rearing is not one of them. Perhaps it’s time we all started to accept responsibility for the lives of these lost children instead of engaging in the usual diatribe against the State. – Yours, etc,
Sir, – The deaths of 196 of its citizens in this State in such circumstances should at least warrant a statement from the European Union. – Yours, etc,
Sir, – Breda O’Brien (Opinion, June 23rd) refers to the report on child deaths in care being littered “with references to undiagnosed ADHD and dyslexia or other learning disabilities”.
As education cuts bite deeper, and timely diagnosis provided free-of-charge by publicly-funded educational psychologists and occupational therapists becomes more difficult to secure, we run the real risk of disproportionately moving even more resources towards children of relative privilege.
The child of a parent who can afford to pay for the initial assessment, privately, currently stands a much better chance of receiving the very necessary – and timely – diagnoses that triggers Department of Education resources and allowances to be channelled to the child, or older student, in the school and exam system. – Yours, etc,
Sir, – The Catholic Church in Ireland has learned from its terrible mistakes in its treatment of child abuse and now has the most robust policy of its kind anywhere in the world. Yet incredibly it is answerable to the HSE(!) for the implementation of this policy. Surely it should now be the other way around? The HSE can’t hide behind a claim that this was the culture of the time as the church did. These terrible deaths occurred in the 21st century! Stop it now! – Yours, etc,
Sir, – Both Carl O’Brien’s and Fintan O’Toole’s articles (Weekend Review, June 23rd) should have been on the front page of The Irish Times.
It is of vital importance that the State, its emanations and its so-called “civil” servants who so drastically and tragically failed 196 children are brought to full account, not least in the court of public opinion. The public themselves, including many of the chattering classes who read your paper, should be waken from their comfortable slumber as to the reality of life on this island for our most vulnerable citizens. Many do not have a clue.
To this end, I propose that a black ribbon be tied to all Tricolours for 196 days to mark the death of the children which this State failed as a collective. Maybe it might be seen as a crass action by those who don’t care, but it will slowly seep into the public conscience that something is truly wrong with this country, where nobody takes responsibility for anything; even vulnerable children. – Yours, etc,
Sir, – Even in the “best” supportive loving families children die, they take their own lives in one way or another. Presumably not as many as the group studied, but how many? Also, some problems don’t have a solution. Social work, psychology and the other support services do a very difficult job, but they can’t always ameliorate the situation and never will be able to. – Yours, etc,
Sir, – I hope the Government will take the constitutional right of each child to 183 days in school into account when deciding the date of the referendum on the constitutional rights of the child next autumn. – Yours, etc,