Pair at centre of abuse case seek redress from state over neglect
Along with their siblings, the two were abused by both parents, now serving jail terms for their crimes.
However, last night an uncle of the children said money will not mean a thing to the young men as they are still living a nightmare.
“No one has been held accountable for this and that is very difficult to take. What good is money to them? It won’t bring their childhood back.”
The two are understood to have an aftercare worker but, according to their uncle, there are still layers of bureaucracy which prevent any meaningful help for them.
He said there are still issues around the six siblings of the family being allowed to visit one another, and some had not seen each other since last August.
In 2009, the children’s mother was jailed for seven years after pleading guilty to incest, neglect, and willful ill-treatment. Their father was last year jailed for 12-and-a-half years for the rape and sexual assault of one of his sons.
The legal action follows the publication last year of a damning report carried out by an independent team headed by Barnardos’ Norah Gibbons.
The report outlines the failures on the part of the HSE and also makes some general suggestions in terms of improving the approach of the HSE to cases of this kind.
Meanwhile, the sergeant who investigated the Roscommon abuse case, Sergeant John Hynes, is to receive the award for his outstanding work on the case and on other difficult sex crimes over the last 12 years.
He spent more than five years bringing the case to a successful conclusion and paid tribute to the children who had the courage to speak out. He commended them for their bravery and especially the young man who gave evidence against his father in court. “He has to be commended for his courage. Their relatives and foster parents have also made a huge difference to their lives in so many ways. They are outstanding people,” he said.
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