Children placed in unfit foster families

Foster children are being placed with families with criminal records, a history of alcohol abuse, and possible mental health or drug issues, and are not re-checked unless “something goes wrong”.

The findings, which come just a month after a damning report into 196 deaths of children in care over the past decade, are revealed in four highly critical HSE internal audit investigations.

The near 100 pages of in-depth reports, obtained by the Irish Examiner under the Freedom of Information Act, reveal a litany of serious problems in Dublin, Wicklow, and across the Midlands.