'His death must not be in vain. The children deserved better'

CHILD DEATH REVIEW GROUP REPORT:THE FAMILIES of children who died while in State care have welcomed yesterday's report and called for its recommendations to be implemented in full.

In particular, they have called on the Government to act swiftly to set up inquiries into individual cases where significant failures were uncovered.

Orla Kavanagh, the mother of Devlin Kavanagh (14), who died about a year after entering State care, said these inquiries will need to be independent.

“We want Minister Frances Fitz-gerald to follow through on her promises, but an inquiry will need to be independent. It can’t be just another HSE review,” she said.

The handling of his case has previously been criticised by the Ombudsman for Children, Emily Logan, who found much more could have been done to meet the boy’s needs.

The family of Daniel McAnaspie also welcomed the report and said it was important to get answers on how his case was handled.

The 17-year-old went missing from State care in 2010 and was later found dead. A postmortem revealed he had been stabbed.

His sister Cathríona McAnaspie said: “Nothing in this report will bring Daniel back to us or any of the other children back to their families. This is what we all want most, but since that is not possible the only satisfactory alternative is to make certain it never happens again.”

She said Daniel was one of many children failed by the HSE and the care system in Ireland.

“His death must not be in vain. He deserved better. All of the children who died in care deserved better. The HSE and the State did not protect them when they were alive. It should not fail them again now they are dead.”

Ms McAnaspie said the report was very upsetting reading for her and members of her family.

“When we read the details of Daniel’s case and how he was failed time and again, it makes us very angry,” she said.

“Anyone would be upset to read about children who have died, but it is clear that many deaths, including Daniel’s, could have been prevented if proper help had been available sooner.”

She said many “simple and obvious things” were not done properly. “Inaccurate records, unsigned reports, long gaps in files, no communication or supervision between social workers and managers. This is in addition to more technical issues like inadequate risk assessments and inappropriate care plans that were often left on the shelf, if they were carried out at all,” she said.