Merit award win for Irish Examiner journalist
Mr Baker was recognised for his ‘Home Away From Home’ feature, which was published last February and supported by the Mary Raftery Journalism Fund. He examined the experiences of Irish children sent by authorities here to care homes overseas. He also questioned why they ended up so far from home, why the State was unable to cater to the children’s needs here and also examined the Irish residential care system.
In choosing his series the award, the judging panel said: “The ‘Home away from Home’ series took an in-depth look at the system of out-of-State placements in secure care facilities for Irish children, and the impact on their lives and those of their families. Mr Baker visited Kibble in Scotland and the Ballydowd secure care facility in Dublin. He interviewed the then Minister for Children, the chief executive of the Child and Family Agency, and the young people who had direct experience of being placed in such facilities.
“This series fully deserves a Merit Certificate for revealing details of a previously unpublished draft report on problems within the care system, how the country’s only intensive therapeutic foster service was discontinued, and how the Scottish authorities had, over two years, rejected half of Irish applications for placements there due to lack of space,” said a spokesman.
After receiving the award, the West Cork native said: “I’m delighted to receive the award which illustrates the commitment of the Irish Examiner to in-depth journalism. I’d also like to thank the Mary Raftery Journalism Fund for its support in producing the series.”
This is Mr Baker’s third win at the Justice Media Awards after he scooped the national daily categories in 2006 and 2010.
Among the other winners was Maria Rolston of the Evening Echo, who received a merit award in the regional newspapers category for her article ‘Domestic violence — an increasing legal issue’.
