Gerry Adams (Louth, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

In 2012, a very harrowing report by the independent child death review group, which documented the deaths of 196 children in State care, deeply shocked many citizens. The report's conclusions were a serious indictment of child protection systems and maintained that the State had abdicated its duty in respect of some young people and failed to provide adequate child protection support. The Taoiseach will recall that key recommendations of the report included independent reviews into the deaths of ten children and for aftercare to be put on a statutory footing.

Three years later, only one of these recommendations has been implemented. The result is that some young people in State care are now being left without adequate support when they turn 18 and these young people are being exposed to exploitation and violence.

When the report of the independent child death review group was first published, the Taoiseach said it detailed a litany of shame. The then Minister for Children and Youth Affairs described it as harrowing and promised that an implementation plan would be developed, but it never was. Is the Government's failure over the course of three years to implement the findings of this most shocking report not an indictment of the Government's record in protecting the most vulnerable of our young citizens who are in the care of the State?

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