Inquiry ‘must establish who is responsible after-hours’

CHILDREN’S welfare groups have demanded the inquiry into the Monageer tragedy categorically declares what agency is responsible in emergency cases.

The groups welcomed yesterday’s announcement by Children’s Minister Brian Lenihan that an independent team will look into the response of everybody involved in the weekend’s deaths. They said this team must outline who is responsible after office hours and what the procedure is in cases where children are in danger.

Barnardos director of advocacy Nora Gibbons said children at risk cannot be left fall between the gaps between the various agencies.

“There are questions that need to be answered, to ensure that the highest level of confidence is maintained in the agencies that often function as a lifeline,” she said.

“When people are in trouble, especially if they are unwilling to turn to family, it’s the gardaí and the HSE on whom the responsibility falls. There is every need to ensure that the systems work, that the lines of communication are right, that the procedures will always kick-start when they are needed.”

The Irish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children said the inquiry must establish key issues, including what communication existed between gardaí and the health services. Chief executive Paul Gilligan said the need for immediate development of an out-of-hours service should be a matter of priority.

“Perhaps nothing could have prevented this tragedy from occurring, perhaps this family never sought help or perhaps, no matter what help they received, nothing could have prevented this from happening,” he said.

“However, for the sake of these two young children and for other young children in similar circumstances we have a moral obligation to investigate whether enough was done.”

Announcing the inquiry, Mr Lenihan said he would wait for all relevant parties to file a report before finalising the inquiry’s terms.

The ISPCC said waiting for the inquiry to reach its verdict should not prevent the Government releasing the necessary funding to put weekend and evening cover in place.

“One of the things that is likely to emerge from any such investigation is the fact the out-of-hours services in place to support families in crisis are skeletal at best and non-existent in many areas of the country. Given that most family crises occur at evenings and weekends it is inevitable that many families are not receiving the supports they so badly need,” said Mr Gilligan.