Children's charity the ISPCC says it wants to find out if abuse is "systemic" in foster care in Ireland.

This letter is an urgent appeal from 14 organisations who work with children to call on An Taoiseach to show leadership on the issue of child homelessness.

The number of senior managers working for the Child and Family Agency outnumbers its counselling and psychology staff by almost four to one.

Tusla, the Child and Family Agency, says it supports a move to having private children’s residential care centres being independently inspected as suggested in a report highlighting major shortfalls in the process.

A new generation has spoken, said the yes side after a landslide victory and an historic weekend.

Children’s rights groups have reacted with concern to the news that a completed review of previously unattended-to child welfare files has found that at least 127 children in Laois/Offaly require immediate intervention.

The Child and Family Agency says it is hopeful no other area of the country will reveal unaddressed files as was the case in Portlaoise, following a national audit of cases awaiting allocation.

More than 230 children in Cork assessed as being at high risk of harm, did not have an allocated social worker.

An organisation working with young people in care has called for more training for staff at Oberstown Campus in Dublin.

Long-awaited legislation meant to ensure young people leaving State care are supported into adulthood makes no provision for funding necessary services.

Landlords have defended themselves from claims they are to blame for the housing crisis and said the Government should take responsibility.

There are still massive gaps to be addressed five years after the publication of the Ryan report, a group that supports young people in care said yesterday.

Taoiseach Enda Kenny pledged that the Child and Family Agency would not be just be “going through the motions” but would transform the way Ireland treats vulnerable youngsters.

Locking children in rooms with no furniture or windows behind a heavy metal door as a punishment for misbehaving in a juvenile detention centre has been criticised by the health watchdog.

A high-support unit for children in care is to close down next month after the inspection watchdog, the Health and Information Quality Authority (Hiqa), said it was a serious fire risk and that staff were unable to control bullying behaviour.

The health watchdog has called for a national strategy to overcome the problem of placing vulnerable children in care homes that do not meet their needs.

Very few parents are prosecuted for criminal neglect despite coming to the attention of gardaí for drug and alcohol abuse, a report examining the management of neglect cases reveals.

The HSE took 10 months to repair a boy’s walking frame while some children in care could not be reunited with their families because local authorities failed to provide suitable housing.

The Government is making a mockery of post-Ryan Report child protection vows by failing to address serious funding and staffing problems in the foster care services.

The HSE did not always formally notify gardaí of cases where children may have been physically or sexually abused, a report published by the health watchdog has claimed.

Frances Fitzgerald, the children’s minister, will today launch a new advocacy service for children in care amid calls for an overhaul of the guardian ad litem service in the courts.

Thirty-nine children spent up to 10 nights in youth homeless centres last year, according to Health Service Executive figures.

A staggering 30,000 plus referrals were made to social services last year on foot of concerns about child abuse and child welfare, a HSE report shows.

The Irish Refugee Council has said it is awaiting legal advice as to whether children in the asylum system are included under the wording of the upcoming referendum on children’s rights.

One-in-five young people surveyed for a study into leaving the care system had experienced a period of homelessness in the 21 months after turning 18.

Social workers have warned that what Children’s Minister Frances Fitzgerald called a “culture of referring on” will increase if mandatory reporting is made law.

The HSE’s staff moratorium and reductions in the staff training budget are being blamed by social care workers for some of the appalling standards of care revealed in the latest inspections of private children’s homes.

An advocacy group for children in care has hit out at social workers for “failing” children following the Irish Examiner’s publication of HSE inspection reports of private children’s homes.

The Government’s response to serious concerns over the safety of troubled teenage girls at an HSE- run secure facility in Cork has been branded “totally inadequate”.

The Government’s new national aftercare policy for vulnerable young people leaving state care does not have the resources to be implemented and the Child Care Act is a “hollow guarantee” for this group, child protection experts have warned.

IRELAND needs up to 2,000 additional social workers to bring child protection services up to the same standard as in the North, social justice campaigner Fr Peter McVerry has said.

Four out of 10 young people suffer mental health problems after leaving state care, new research has revealed.

THE Government and the opposition led the criticisms of the HSE last night after an independent report found serious failures in its approach to children in foster care.

THE HSE and the Minister for Children yesterday defended its special care service for vulnerable children after a report claimed there were deficiencies in the system.

New figures released today show that 151 children and young adults, who were known to social services, or who were previously in care, died over the last 10 years.

SENIOR HSE figures are to be asked to meet Children’s Minister Barry Andrews to explain why the number of deaths of children in care is substantially higher than previous figures provided to the Government.

Eighteen children were killed, died from drugs or by suicide while in state care over the past ten years, the Health Service Executive (HSE) said tonight.

THE Health Service Executive (HSE) has confirmed it has set up the new child death review panel and has also named a review team to deal with the death of teenager Daniel McAnaspie.

POOR practice within the social care system whereby foster carers were not vetted before children were placed with them is only the tip of the iceberg, it has been warned.

A psychotherapist who was involved in the care of Tracey Fay is questioning the validity of the report into her time in care and her subsequent death.

A LACK of weekend support for foster parents means they often end up having to supervise access visits with the children’s biological parents.

THE Government has been urged to make an exception about halving the dole for young people with a warning that it could cripple the lives of over 5,000 children in care once they turn 18.