The CEO of the Children’s Rights Alliance has said that it is a concern that one of the five teenagers killed in the M9 crash last weekend was in the care of Tusla.
Tusla confirmed yesterday evening that one of the teenagers was in its care and two more of the five teenagers who died were known to the agency.
Speaking on RTÉ’s Morning Ireland, Tanya Ward said that it was welcome that Tusla had informed the public that the teenager was in its care.
“It is a concern that one of them was in the care system, and it would suggest to me perhaps he had been missing from his registered care placement or wherever he was in care in Tusla,” she said.
Ms Ward said it was also welcome that the boy’s case will be referred to the National Review Panel.
“Their review is important because it will look at the circumstances of that young person.
“They’ll explore the type of care that he received and also if there was any chance to prevent the loss of his life and intervene and stop the event that unfolded.”
Minister for Education Hildegarde Naughton said the Government takes the death of someone in Tusla care “extremely seriously”, adding that it is necessary to let the panel “do their work”.
“They will be looking at inter-agency support and how that operates, but I think we need to establish the facts first and if there are any learnings from that I know that we will be responding to it,” she told Morning Ireland.
Joe Carthy from Athy, Co Kildare; Alex McCarthy from Carlow; Kamil Pustkowski from Limerick; Jeremy O’Brien and Jack Kennedy were killed in a head-on collision when their car was driven the wrong way down the M9 motorway in Kildare.
Tusla said staff had been in contact with the family of the teenager who was in their care and the families of those who were known to the agency and that there is ongoing liaison with An Garda Síochána.
The child and family agency said it is continuing to work with the Children and Young People’s Services Committee and partner organisations to ensure that the appropriate supports are available to all those affected by the tragedy.
Meanwhile, asked about the visibility of the Road Safety Authority in the wake of the crash, transport minister Seán Canney said: “I have introduced and agreed with government reforms of the RSA, and one of them is to have a better communications model. This is something which we have talked about, and I’ve talked to the RSA about, and I would say that this is why I think you will see, going forward, a more front facing RSA into the future.”
‘Vital’ State is ‘fully resourced’ to implement plan – Children’s Ombudsman
The events of last weekend highlight the importance of the Government’s new Alternative Care Strategy according to the Ombudsman for Children.
The Programme for Government committed to the development of a national plan on alternative care, which it is understood is being drafted by the Department of Children.
In a statement, Children’s Ombudsman Dr Niall Muldoon said it was “vital” that the State “is fully resourced” to implement the plan.
He said the events of last weekend raised many issues that needed to be tackled across different levels of society.
Dr Muldoon said that “once more” it shone a light on the need to identify and address gaps in policy and services across the board for Ireland’s most vulnerable children and young people.
He said that over the past two years, his office had been “engaging extensively” with young people, Government departments, agencies and the Judiciary on the matter.
The Children’s Ombudsman used his statement to highlight the role of social media companies in ensuring young people are kept safe online.
“Young people themselves have told us they don’t want to encounter dangerous or upsetting material online, but if they do, social media platforms should have visible, easy-to-use, and effective ways for them to report it and that it will be quickly removed.
“The OCO has said there should be strong legal requirements on companies to tackle the use of harmful algorithms and to prevent children encountering harmful content on their platforms,” he said.
‘Tusla cannot lock up children’
Ms Ward said that there was only so much that Tusla could do, and that they could not “lock up children”.
“Is any parent, or corporate parent, responsible for what their children do?” she asked.
“Tusla cannot lock up children and when Tusla do want to lock up children, they have to go to the courts to do that. It’s called special care. It’s really important to recognise that.
“They have a very good system in place for registering when children do go missing from their care placement and they take it very seriously.
“Even if a child goes missing for 15 minutes, they’re registered and the residential care team or the social workers will be doing a review to see where the young person is.”
‘Systemic approach needed’ to address root cause of risky behaviour
A systemic approach is required to address the root causes that lead young people into dangerous and risky behaviour, according to the Irish Association of Social Workers.
Following Tusla’s confirmation last night that one of the teens who died in the M9 crash was in its care, and two more were known to it, the IASW has described the “fragmented delivery of services” for young people as a challenge.
The association has called for multi-agency targeted engagement and specialised resources to be directed towards young people who are identified as being at a high risk of engaging in criminality – particularly those from marginalised backgrounds.
In a statement, it said the focus had been on social media and additional garda powers to address the consequences of dangerous driving, rather than the underlying issues that can lead young people and adults to engage “in such risky behaviours in the first place”.
“Social work practice and international research confirm that children who engage in such high-risk criminal activity are disproportionately from backgrounds characterised by poverty, trauma, abuse, and poor educational attainment and engagement. These young people often experience a profound sense of hopelessness and a lack of connection to society,” it said.
The association pointed out that youth facility provision must be increased with later opening hours to create stable and safe environments for children at risk of engaging in criminality to form relationships with consistent positive role models.
It also said the incident showed the importance of placing the National Review Panel on a statutory footing and extending its remit to examine all unexpected child deaths – whether they are engaged with Tusla or not.
Additional reporting: Ailbhe Conneely
