Tusla confirm they reported the murders of 12 children to National Review Panel

Aontú leader Peadar Tóibín TD says that Tusla, the Child and Family Agency, have confirmed to him that over the past decade eleven children were murdered while they were known to child protection services, and one child was murdered while in State care.

Speaking in response to the statistics released to him, Deputy Tóibín said:

“It is absolutely heart-breaking to think that 11 children, known to the State’s child protection services were murdered along with one child in State Care over the past decade.

“Last week we in Aontú released data we’d obtained from the Child and Family Agency which showed that almost half of the 42 children who died while in State Care over the past decade had died by suicide or drug overdose.

“This week we’ve learned that of the 164 children who died at a time when they were known to child protection services during the same period, 11 of them died by suspected homicide. Homicide represents 7% of the deaths which have occurred – a truly horrifying statistic!”

“I will be meeting with Tusla this coming week – they have agreed to meet with me – and I will be raising these issues with them.

“This issue – the issue of children being murdered while known to child protection services – warrants a full and thorough discussion and debate in the Dáil chamber.

“The past week in the Dáil was an emotional one for our country as we learned detail of the Grace Case.

“This week we’re also dealing with issues of compensating people who suffered abuse in Mother and Baby Homes when they were children.

“How can we possibly deal with the issues of the past unless we have utmost transparency and robust parliamentary discussion about the children who are dying under the care or the eye of the State today”.

“We need an independent body to examine all of these children’s cases and details which have been furnished to me this week.

“We need comparative analysis with other countries to ensure that we are doing the best by our children. Children under the care of the State, or for whom concerns have been reported to the State, should not be dying at such a colossal rate from suicide, murder and drug overdose.

“This is a crisis of enormous human proportions. Alarm bells need to be sounded now.

“I will be raising this issue with the Taoiseach at the next available opportunity in the Dáil”, concluded Tóibín.