Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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I have already expressed in the House today my condolences to the family of Daniel McAnaspie on his tragic death and I repeat those condolences. It is particularly appalling that almost three months after he went missing, his remains were found in a ditch at the side of a field in County Meath. I am very conscious that a Garda murder investigation is under way and I do not want to say anything that could in any way prejudice that investigation. I hope, as no doubt do all other Members of the House, that those responsible for his appallingly violent death are brought to justice in the not too distant future.

I met the family of Daniel McAnaspie shortly after he went missing and they were greatly concerned about him. They told me the story of his dealings with the HSE and their concerns about the manner in which he had been failed by the HSE. This was a troubled young man who suffered from dyslexia, who had learning difficulties and who was an orphan. He was in the care system and he was supposed to be properly provided for by the HSE. At various stages, his family did their best to be of help to him.

From the information I have, it is my understanding that having been in care, he returned to live with an aunt for a period of approximately two years. Having attended a special school, my information is that his movement out of care to reside with the aunt resulted in the place that had been available to him in the special school ceasing to be available. At a time when this child had particular needs, the lack of co-ordination between the HSE and the Department of Education and Science within the care services added to the difficulties of this family in caring for this troubled young man at home.

The HSE failed to provide the supports required. The HSE also failed to provide the special facilities needed to meet his very special needs. I am still not sure why that occurred. Clearly there were substantial failings. This is the second young person to have died in the care of the HSE, as far as we know. Melissa Mahon is another young person who died while supposedly in care. It may well be that additional numbers of young people will be revealed to have died while in care when the group that the Minister appointed finally undertakes the work assigned to it and when it reports.

With regard to Daniel McAnaspie, I call on the Minister of State to ensure that there is a full independent inquiry into all of the dealings by the HSE with this tragic young man and his family. I also call on the Minister of State to appoint individuals entirely independent of the HSE to conduct such an inquiry without delay. I ask the Minister of State to ensure that such an inquiry is not delayed until the completion of the Garda investigation and the taking of any prosecution that may ensue from such investigation. There is no reason the inquiry should not commence at an early stage.

The inquiry should involve not just a review of the files and records of the HSE but should include interviews with social work personnel, care workers involved with this young man, and those in managerial positions in the HSE and the educational system who made decisions that impacted on the tragedy of this young man's life. That independent inquiry should also include interviews with members of Daniel McAnaspie's family, who can very articulately set out their concerns and worries.

I am fully conscious of the fact that along the route dealing with this tragic young man I am sure there were some dedicated social workers who did their best and tried to ensure the tragedy that has occurred would not occur. The particular concern I have is that despite everything we have learned in the past ten years, despite the publication of the reports into the deaths of Tracey Fay and David Foley - two reports which were sitting on the shelves of the HSE and in the Minister of State's office during the crucial year of Daniel McAnaspie's life immediately preceding his death - we were told lessons were learned from these reports. The lessons should have been learned 18 months, two years or maybe five years ago. Certainly, both reports-----

Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick East, Labour)
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The Deputy's time has come to an end.

Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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I will conclude with this point.

Both reports were well completed during the time that this young man was still alive when proper provision could have been made for him. I am sick of hearing the HSE say it will review what occurred to learn what went wrong. The truth is, and it seems to me, that over the past decade with all the tragedies that have resulted from the gross failures of our child care and protection services, no real lessons have been learned and nothing has changed. We need this independent investigation so the truth is known as to how this young man was dealt with and what went wrong. We in this House should then consider the radical changes necessary to ensure we put in place child protection structures that truly protect children.

The last thing I will say this evening in the restricted time I have is to ask the Minister of State to confirm to the House that before we get to the end of this week three people will be appointed to conduct the inquiry that is necessary and that the results of that inquiry will be fully published. I ask him to give serious consideration for the first time in the context of an inquiry of this nature to making it a public inquiry. Let us have full transparency and accountability for the manner in which our child care services are failing.

Barry Andrews (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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I welcome the opportunity to reply to this Adjournment matter. The tragic circumstances of the death of Daniel McAnaspie are particularly harrowing and all the more difficult for his family and friends. As Deputy Shatter mentioned, the case is the subject of a murder investigation being carried out by the Garda and therefore I am limited in what I can say about the specifics of the case.

Daniel was initially placed in the care of the HSE in 2003 and I understand that efforts were made since 2009 to stabilise his living environment. The boy went missing on 25 February 2010 and unfortunately his body was identified on 16 May 2010. The HSE has confirmed that Daniel's case will be reviewed in accordance with the recently published HIQA guidance for the HSE for the review of serious incidents including deaths of children in care.

The review will involve a full investigation into the care provided to Daniel McAnaspie and the circumstances leading up to his disappearance and death. Any concerns raised by family members, and other relevant parties, will be addressed in the course of the review, which will be conducted under an independent chairperson. The review into Daniel McAnaspie death will commence without delay, with a review team of three members, external to the HSE, drawn from a national review panel soon to be finalised. The primacy of the Garda investigation will need to be taken into account by the review group. It should be noted that I wrote to the HSE's assistant national director for children and families on March 25, when it was reported that the child was missing, requesting that a review under the HIQA guidance commence.

The HIQA guidance was produced in response a commitment in the Government's implementation plan following the publication of the Ryan report. I recently established the independent review group on child deaths. The group has been asked to examine existing information on deaths of children in care over the past ten years so as to validate the categorisation of those children who died from natural causes. The group is to examine existing reviews and reports completed by the HSE, or by others on behalf of the HSE, on children other than those who died from natural causes and based upon this information, provide an overall report for publication. The group's report will be laid before the Houses of the Oireachtas and published. The case of Daniel McAnaspie will be notified to the group.

The HSE is committed to a comprehensive review of Daniel's care to be undertaken in line with the guidance from HIQA so that any lessons can be learned in terms of the provision of services to young people in care. Deputy Shatter mentioned there may be more than 23 cases, which is the figure I mentioned in the Dáil earlier this year, and this is probably true. Part of this is associated with the widening of the ambit of the review to include those children notified to the child protection system but not in care as well as children who have already left the care system but are under the age of 21. This is not the only reason I dare say that the numbers may increase; it may also be due to poor record keeping on the part of the HSE. Nevertheless, this is a very challenging area and I believe the changes we introduced since the implementation plan following the Ryan report will bring transparency to this crucial area.