The Irish Association of Social Workers (IASW) wishes to extend our deepest condolences to the family, friends, and all those who knew, loved, and cared for the child recently discovered missing and now presumed dead in Donabate. This is a heartbreaking tragedy, and our thoughts are with everyone affected by this devastating loss.
Child protection is a complex and challenging environment. There are significant challenges with the recruitment and retention of Social Workers in TULSA, the Child and Family Agency, to fill vacant posts. Coupled with a similar crisis in hiring and retaining Social Care workers to staff children’s residential centre’s, community supports and special care places, all combine to create a huge strain on this already challenging and complex setting. Tusla’s role in this context is to care for and support our most vulnerable children and their families.
The recent cases of children missing presumed dead raise a number of concerns for our state-run services and society. How can a child just go missing?
In light of this case, IASW is calling for a full statutory review to ensure that every aspect of the circumstances leading to this tragedy are understood. It is vital that lessons are learned so that no child is left without the protection and care they deserve.
We strongly urge that services concerned with children become more integrated, with clear and appropriate sharing of information between professionals. Effective safeguarding depends on strong cooperation and communication across all relevant services.
The IASW further calls on the State to ensure that all agencies with responsibilities for children are fully engaged and resourced to play their role in safeguarding and child protection. Protecting children is a shared responsibility that must involve health, education, social care, justice, and community supports working in genuine partnership.
Specifically, in the Donabate case, the pertinent question remains, that once family reunification occurred what safety protections were put in place for the child. A safety network need not be exclusively social workers. Family support workers, appropriately vetted family members or friends and other community professionals such as teachers, the Gardai and Public Health nurses can also form part of a robust safety net.
We also call for an examination of the thresholds of harm that are being set by Tusla for the intake and monitoring of children referred to the service. This question also applies for the closing of a case. How is a child who was unsafe, or at risk of harm, now deemed safe, and who is deciding this and how is it managed?
The long-awaited Review of the Child Care Act is expected to bring a compulsory interagency working component. This needs to happen as a matter of priority. It is also expected that this will place the National Review Panel on a statutory footing, giving it more weight when recommendations are made and must be acted upon.
The IASW and our members remain committed to advocating for policies, practices, and resources that place the safety and wellbeing of children at the center.
Above all we must learn from these cases and close the gaps. One child is one child too many.
ENDS
