How could so many people fail to protect one child?

THE report into the death of Tracey Fay raises the question of who was in charge of the tragic teenager’s care.

Answering it requires negotiating a maze of personnel, procedures, offices and oversight agencies that is at times so confusing, it is almost understandable that Tracey got lost in the mix.

The first on the scene when concerns about a child’s welfare are raised with the Health Service Executive is a social worker, followed by a duty team leader, a principal social worker and, where the child is deemed in need of intervention, a childcare manager.