Boy Found Dead in Ditch 24th - or 200th ? Child to Die in Our (HSE) "Care" in 10 Years

[C. Flower]

Our outrage is great when it comes to things that happened decades ago all the better to turn a blind eye to childen abandoned today.

This boy, according to his sisters just interviewed on RTE, was ophaned at 11, could find no school or help with literacy from 14 or home from 16 - HSE "Care" meant turning up at a police station each night to be allocated a hostel place.

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/...breaking3.html

It is believed the dead man could be missing teenager Daniel McAnaspie. The 17-year-old Dubliner has been missing since February.
Gardaí have long feared he was killed and his remains dumped.
Daniel, from Finglas, has not been heard from since he was seen drinking in a housing estate in Blanchardstown in the early hours of Friday, February 26th.
He was seen at about 4.30pm the previous day close to Erin’s Isle GAA club, Finglas. He then went with friends to Blanchardstown. He spent a period drinking in a house on Whitestown Avenue. He was last seen on the street with others at 3.30am.
Extensive Garda searching has been carried out in an effort to find him and a major criminal investigation is ongoing.
Daniel, one of six siblings and whose parents are deceased, has been described as “vulnerable”. Alan Shatter TD told the Dáil in March the teenager was in State care when he disappeared.

Edit 20.6.12 - Report of the Independent Child Death Review Group.

http://www.dcya.gov.ie/viewdoc.asp?DocID=2172

[Newsy]

Our outrage is great when it comes to things that happened decades ago all the better to turn a blind eye to childen abandoned today.

An absolute shame.

I agree with you. We can rage about the past, but children are having to truly fend for themselves in the HSE system.....SHAME....SHAME and there is no outrage.

[Roland The Gunslinger]

It's a common theme in this country,state once again fails those that are most vulnerable,so in actual fact nothing has changed,just another day in Ireland.

[C. Flower]

This was a family of young teenagers whose parents died and the supports just weren't there for them.

Even for middle class children, I'm not sure they're there. I know of an orphaned family where the oldest daughter, doing her leaving cert, was minding a family of four single handed. And a boy who took a farm and younger siblings when he was aged 14.

Respect to them - but the obvious thing to do would have been to give them a home help for a few hours a day.

[C. Flower]

There will be an investigation - 15 people and a Chairperson. They have no bother spending money on that, but his sisters say his literacy classes were refused.

http://www.breakingnews.ie/ireland/h...se-458017.html

[Kid Ryder]

There will be an investigation - 15 people and a Chairperson. They have no bother spending money on that, but his sisters say his literacy classes were refused.

http://www.breakingnews.ie/ireland/h...se-458017.html

Our goovt. can find €70bn odd for the banking system, but not the few pennies that would have guaranteed a permanent home for this now-dead young citizen. The shame is not ours, but belongs to those who run this society like so. They have a truly inhuman set of values.

[TaxationIsTheft]

Why do all lefties think its someone elses job to do these charitable activities? If you want worthy good works activities carried out, you have to get together with like minded people and do them yourselves. If youre not going to be bothered, why would some state bureaucrat?

Socialism seems to be just an excuse for people to pass off their responsibility to the state.

[Dagger John]

The above is an attempt to pass on the states responsibilities to the public. We need to take a good look at why we cannot have a proper system for looking after children in vulnerable circumstances. This will of course take a lot of money. Which will mean higher taxes. But that is what the state is for. And we will have to pay for it. Even if it means the spoilt brats of the Celtic Tiger era who still think they NEED two holidays, this years car and the cottage in Connemara have to forsake their lifestyle.

The only institution which made any attempt at providing for the weak and vulnerable was the Church. But then they made a hames of that. Pity, as they were the best placed to do it. So in absence of this safety net we will have to do it via the state, and that means huge costs. The only problem is - based on past experience - can the State do it? Their record is abysmally worse than the Church's. How many is that dead now?

[TaxationIsTheft]

we will have to do it via the state, and that means huge costs. The only problem is - based on past experience - can the State do it? Their record is abysmally worse than the Church's. How many is that dead now?

So you admit the state is incapable of this kind of social work, but you insist that they go ahead and waste our taxes by trying. Why not just admit the state is NOT capable of curing all human suffering.

These kinds of problems cannot be cured by spending taxpayers money. In fact youre more likely to get results when you use charity and unpaid volunteers, because you exclude all the parasites and bureaucrats who are just in it for the money.

State bureaucrats cannot do social work. There is no point even trying. The HSE employs 50,000 administrative bureacrats, and the service is rubbish.

[Murra]

24 Children in State care are dead....all on Mary Harney's watch, and she's STILL Minister for Health. What does it take???

[Murra]

I've said it before and I'll say it again - every child in State care needs a Guardian Ad Litem. Currently, these positions are only allowed for qualified Social Workers - but why do you need to be a qualified Social Worker to ensure that a child's needs are being met by the State? Why couldn't you or I do it? If I had responsibility for only one child - on a voluntary basis even, then I could be making the necessary phone calls to ensure that that child was tucked up somewhere safe in a bed at night, that s/he had a worthwhile occupation throughout the day, and was able to access whatever services s/he needed.

Its not f'ing rocket science.

[C. Flower]

I've said it before and I'll say it again - every child in State care needs a Guardian Ad Litem. Currently, these positions are only allowed for qualified Social Workers - but why do you need to be a qualified Social Worker to ensure that a child's needs are being met by the State? Why couldn't you or I do it? If I had responsibility for only one child - on a voluntary basis even, then I could be making the necessary phone calls to ensure that that child was tucked up somewhere safe in a bed at night, that s/he had a worthwhile occupation throughout the day, and was able to access whatever services s/he needed.

Its not f'ing rocket science.

I agree. They need an adoptive aunty, uncle, or grandparent.

[TaxationIsTheft]

There is a program in the USA called Big Brothers, which facilitates people who want to help disadvantaged children, not financially, but with moral support. It could easily be set up here.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Brothers

But irish people wont bother helping their fellow citizen because theyre expecting the nanny state to do it for them. Socialism disincentivises charity and self help.

[Andrew49]

I agree. They need an adoptive aunty, uncle, or grandparent.

This State is, and always has been a danger to children in need of care. Daniel's life and subsequent murder bears this out.

I think it's time to re-define (or define) the family in the Constitution... to include parents, siblings, grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins even .... and the local community from which the child/children come from.

Child care isn't rocket science as Murra stated.

Link

[C. Flower]

Children need to be protected by people who really do care for them and who are prepared to deal with a lot of problems and come back for more. The HSE apparently know this boy was at serious risk and it appears nothing effective was done. One in four children at risk doesn't even have a social worker. There seems to be a culture of writing off children who hit a really difficult patch.

If you haven't got money you are nothing in this country.