THE RYAN report into the sexual and physical abuse of children placed in the care of religious orders by the State became a source of public anger and revulsion this summer. Brian Cowen described it as an indictment of the individuals who had perpetrated the abuse; the religious congregations that ran the institutions and the organs of the State that had failed in their duty of care. But the State continues to fail children at risk by not providing early supports for problem families and by continuing to rely on “out of hours” emergency accommodation. Then, when things go wrong, there is no official accountability.
As social affairs correspondent Carl O’Brien reported in yesterday’s editions, Danny Talbot died from an apparent drugs overdose in a Dublin flat two weeks ago. His death brought to 21 the number of children who have died while in State care during a seven-year period. A large proportion of those unfortunate children were sent to emergency hostel care, designed only to provide short-term accommodation until suitable placements could be found. But they remained there, with no option but to roam the streets during the day, exposed to a culture of crime, prostitution and drug abuse. Small wonder they couldn’t cope. Investigations conducted by the Health Service Executive (HSE) have never been formally published.
This unwillingness to confront failure; to apportion blame or to change a clearly defective system is endemic in Irish public life. It was brutally evident in a report concerning the tragic deaths of the Dunne family, at Monageer, Co Wexford, two years ago. One-third of that report’s conclusions and recommendations were officially blacked out while inadequate and under-funded social services were left to limp along, unchanged.
Social workers involved in emergency hostel care in Dublin, known as the “out of hours” system, say too many lives have been lost because young people have not been provided with a more structured and supportive environment. We know some of their names. Eighteen-year-old Tracey Fay, David Foley, aged 17, Kim O’Donovan aged 15, and now, 19-year-old Danny Talbot. Others have been quietly forgotten by a system that failed to protect them. Such cases may be the exception but Ombudsman for Children Emily Logan recently called for an automatic investigation into all such deaths. However, if the Monageer report is anything to go by, determined political action and administrative reform will be required also.
Early intervention, through the provision of social and educational supports to stressed or dysfunctional families, has the most beneficial effect. It is also the cheaper option. Fewer children subsequently run foul of the law. And society is healthier for it. There have been tentative moves in this direction by Government through pilot schemes. But nothing dramatic or convincing. Social work teams remain under-funded. The HSE is in denial. And young people continue to die. If that is to change, we need to radically reform child protection services and ensure their uniform application.