8,194 reports of possible child abuse and neglect ignored

THE Health Service Executive received almost 24,000 reports of child abuse and neglect in 2007 but only followed up 15,074 of them, a new childcare report has revealed.

The Review of Adequacy of Services for Children and Families 2007 reflects once again how workloads on social workers are causing cases to fall through the cracks.

The report shows that in 2007, no initial assessment was undertaken in relation to 8,194 reports of possible child abuse or neglect.