Sustained political will now required to drive reform in child protection

ANALYSIS:YESTERDAY'S REPORT shines a light onto one of the darkest sides of Irish life: how the State's creaking and often chaotic child protection system is failing some of its most vulnerable citizens.

It shows how a system designed to protect the children at risk did not respond until it was far too late. Or when it did respond, there was a monumental failure to take the kind of decisive steps needed to protect their safety and welfare. This is what happens when a child protection system is poorly organised, badly managed and under-resourced.

If many of the review group’s findings sound familiar, that’s because they are. They can be found in the reports of other cases over the past decade or more, such as the Roscommon abuse case, the Kilkenny incest case and the Kelly Fitzgerald case in Mayo, as well as reviews into the tragic deaths of troubled teenagers such as Tracey Fay and David Foley while in care.

What is so shocking on this occasion, however, is the sheer scale of these failures: 112 deaths as a result of overdoses, suicide, unlawful killings and other non-natural causes. These all point to poor co-operation and communication between State agencies; the lack of a standardised approach to dealing with abuse concerns; no emphasis on preventive measures, and a failure to implement child protection guidelines consistently.

It’s deeply depressing to think many of these failures occurred during the most prosperous time in our history. However, child protection services were allowed to drift for years by both management and successive governments because it was never a political priority. The most vulnerable children in society have languished at the bottom of our list of priorities.

It would be easy to demonise individual social workers involved in handling these cases or to focus solely on whether employees have been disciplined.

Certainly, the report shows evidence of poor practice by individuals where concerns were not properly responded to and where management of cases failed spectacularly badly.

But the report also shows evidence of individual social workers going the extra mile, often using their own resources to meet the needs of children against the backdrop of an often dysfunctional child protection system. In many respects, however, social workers have been operating in a service that is not fit for purpose.

We now know what the gaps in the system are. What has been missing to date is the political leadership to drive changes home and perform a root-and-branch reform of our child protection system. The Government now has the opportunity to act decisively and build a fitting monument to young people who have been failed: a well-resourced and functioning child protection system that helps children realise their full potential.

The new child and family agency – which will take over responsibility for child protection from the HSE – will need to be resourced properly and to have clear lines of accountability.

A new agency will also need to support social workers in the painstaking job of working with families to assess the needs of children or parents, directing them to support or – in more extreme cases – deciding whether to admit a child into the care system.

It will also need a heavy emphasis on early intervention, to help provide simple family support, which can often help prevent simple welfare cases escalating into full-blown crises.

The recommendations in yesterday’s report, if implemented, will help achieve that. The Government has pledged to act. But, as of today, they still remain aspirations. Only sustained political will can ensure they are fully realised.