Child protection - We shouldn’t jump to wild conclusions

There have been widespread calls for an inquiry into the manner in which the two Roma children were taken by gardaí from their parents in Dublin and Athlone while their parentage was being checked out.

Justice Minister Alan Shatter has asked for a full Garda report into the background and circumstances of the two cases, and Minister for Children Frances Fitzgerald has asked the Health Service Executive to carry out a separate report that will be given to the Ombudsman for Children.

“It’s only right and proper that we get a detailed report on what exactly happened here,” Taoiseach Enda Kenny stressed yesterday. He also emphasised the importance of ensuring that people are not linking race with the welfare of children. There are various facets to the case that should be examined.

There probably were ways in which the two cases could have been better handled, and this needs to be determined. If the DNA results had been different, the gardaí would have undoubtedly had to contact Europol and Interpol, but suggesting that they had contacted them before the results were back was clearly premature.

The two incidents were obviously in reaction to the high-profile international cases involving the abduction of Madeleine McCann and the recent discovery of the mysterious blonde child in Greece with a couple who were not her parents.

DNA evidence has removed all doubts in relation to the two Irish children. Both happened to be fair-haired with blue eyes, in contrast with their parents. It was neighbours who brought the cases to the attention of the gardaí, who took the two children away while their parentage was being confirmed.

Removing children from the custody of parents is a serious matter, but this was done within the law, with the authority of a district court and under an emergency care order of the Childcare Act. What the gardaí did should not in any way be equated with abduction. In fact, the public should be reassured that the authorities acted with relative dispatch in these cases.

The case involving the young girl in Dublin was more dragged out for some reason, but Pavee Point, which represents the Roma community in the country, announced early that a source close to the family stated the couple were “extremely confident” the DNA tests would prove the child was theirs.

It must, however, have been particularly traumatic for the young children. Hence it is important to determine how things could have been handled in a better, less stressful manner. The two Roma families have been promised social services to help them get over any “trauma” caused.

The whole thing is a lesson for neighbours and everybody else not to go jumping to wild conclusions.