The Children's Court

Madam, - I agree with your Editorial of March 2nd that the excellent series on the children's court by Carl O'Brien made distressing…

Madam, - I agree with your Editorial of March 2nd that the excellent series on the children's court by Carl O'Brien made distressing and depressing reading. His reports were almost identical to Nell McCafferty's series a generation ago. Little seems to have changed.

One of my "sermons" to medical students is that the three most important Ps in paediatrics are parenting, poverty and prevention. Despite improvements and innovations in all three areas, we have failed to invest adequately in any of those three vital Ps. Ireland has a very high population of deprived children by all of the EU standards - 15 per cent, similar to Britain's.

Am I alone in being puzzled how we, as a State, will manage to find an estimated €800 million of current taxpayers' money in an effort to redress the wrongs of 40 to 60 years ago?

I expect in 2020 or 2030 we will have similar tribunals of inquiry into the multiple derogations of duty by the State in the care of children in the era 2000 to 2003, some of which have been highlighted by Mr Justice Kelly in his judgments and others by Father McVerry.

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A significant minority of our children suffer from poor education, poor environment, poor self-esteem and little expectation of success. A small percentage of children seem, from the day they were born, destined to fail, to fall through the system and to end up in our juvenile courts. More money is needed in children's preventive health and well-being today. How many initiatives are hobbled for lack of financial support?

Surely investing today for the sake of tomorrow, is preferable to spending hundreds of millions attempting to atone for the wrongs of the past? - Yours, etc.,

Prof DENIS G. GILL, The Children's University Hospital, Temple Street, Dublin 1.