Aontú Leader Peadar Tóibín TD has called for an urgent review of outcomes for children in State care following the tragic M9 crash in which several young people lost their lives, including reports that three of the children involved were in care.
Deputy Tóibín said:
“As details emerge regarding the backgrounds of some of those involved, serious questions must be asked regarding the State’s ability to protect and support highly vulnerable children in its care.”
The Deputy pointed to a series of Parliamentary Questions which revealed significant gaps in the State’s knowledge of outcomes for children in care.
“I asked Tusla how many children in care have been arrested, prosecuted, convicted or otherwise progressed through the criminal justice system. Remarkably, Tusla was unable to provide those figures. The agency stated that criminal justice information is held on individual files but does not appear to be collated nationally in a way that allows public accountability or meaningful scrutiny.”
“How can the State identify problems, evaluate interventions or improve outcomes if it is not systematically measuring them?”
Deputy Tóibín noted that separate figures show that 56 individual children subject to State care orders were admitted to Oberstown Children Detention Campus between 2022 and April 2026, with the overwhelming majority entering from residential care settings. The average period of detention was more than eight months.
“These figures demonstrate that a significant number of children under State protection are ending up in detention, yet we still do not have national figures on arrests or convictions. That is an extraordinary gap in oversight.”
The Deputy also highlighted child mortality figures obtained from the Minister for Children.
“The M9 tragedy has understandably raised questions about how children are supported by State services. It is important that those questions are addressed carefully and based on evidence.”
“We know that 235 children known to Child Protection Services have died since 2014 and that 27 children died while in Tusla care placements.”
“These children have died as a result of murder, suicide, drug overdoses and shocking accidents. There are dozens of children missing right now from residential care. This week I learned through PQ that 13 children are missing for over 6 months from Tusla. These children are then exposed to sexual exploitation and to drug traffickers. The government is taking children from horrendous situations and putting them into other horrendous situations.
Tusla announced that SEAs are coming to and end. However, I understand that as many as 250 children are on waiting lists for residential care. At the end of July Tusla was found by the High Court in contempt of court for failing to provide secure placements for vulnerable children despite being directed to do so.
In this case the government’s failure may well have led, in part, to the innocent family suffering horrendous injury on the M9. Its no longer acceptable for the Minister for Children to hide behind Tusla. The Minister has the ultimate authority and responsibility. She must public detail what has happened in this case. She must explain why residential capacity still does not exist and how the state will help strengthen families so that they can raise their children. CRIOCH
