‘Alarming rise’ in child neglect cases

There has been an alarming rise in the number of child neglect cases being investigated by the HSE.

Provisional figures show the HSE received 16,452 welfare referrals and 12,825 abuse referrals in 2010.

Of the abuse referrals, 4,755 were for alleged child neglect — more than the number for sexual abuse (2,962), physical abuse (2,608), and emotional abuse (2,500).