Kyran Durnin 'went missing from the face of the planet for two years and that was not picked up'
Gardai suspect that Kyran Durnin may have died in 2022 when he was aged six (Cate McCurry/PA)
The Kyran Durnin case is indicative of real problems with the State’s child protection systems, according to Special Rapporteur on Child Protection Caoilfhionn Gallagher.
It comes as Garda Commissioner Drew Harris described the suspected murder case of the eight-year-old as “extraordinary”, saying he has never seen one like it in his 40-year career.
Gardaí are today continuing to search a former family property and adjoining lands in Dundalk, Co Louth.
Now in its third day, investigators are carrying out a thorough search in and around the property.
A digger was seen working in wasteland directly behind the terraced house as part of the investigation into the suspected murder of the schoolboy.
Ms Gallagher has said the system has failed Kyran.
“I'm afraid this case is indicative of real problems with our systems, and on the face of it, it looks as if our systems were not fit for purpose, they failed Kyran, and it's taken two years for us to catch up on what's happened," she said.
“It is a horrifying case and there are many unanswered questions at this stage while the Garda investigation is ongoing. But from what we do know and we know that a child apparently went missing from the face of the planet for two years and that was not picked up. And we're only now uncovering what may have happened in 2022, in 2024. So that's deeply concerning.
“I share the concerns that have been expressed by many ministers and An Taoiseach and indeed by the Children's Rights Alliance about what's happened here. But it's also worth saying that this case is occurring against a backdrop of growing concerns in relation to child protection.
Ms Gallagher told RTÉ's News at One: “It was only in February 2023 that the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child delivered a damning report on a whole range of child protection issues in Ireland, including issues about child violence and whether there were adequate protective steps being taken, whether adequate steps were taken to gather information on children at risk, for example, whether there's sufficient follow up for children at risk.
"It's also coming just within weeks of us finding out that 29 children died who were either in state care or known to the state in the last year for which figures are available. Now, a number of those were natural causes. A number of those were suicides. But the backdrop is that there are very grave concerns about child protection issues, which is why I agree with the Children's Rights Alliance’s point about this case, raising serious systemic concerns which need to be answered and need to be answered independently of Tusla.”
Ms Gallagher also said she agreed with a call from the Children’s Rights Alliance for a broader inquiry into the Kyran Durnin case.
“I welcome the fact that Tusla is conducting an internal review, but there has got to be a review outside the Garda investigation. Not just on the criminal issues, but on the broader systemic questions about what, if anything, went wrong here.
“On the face of it. It appears that there were serious failures and also looks at agencies and individuals and organisations that had contact with Kyran during his time there and looks at whether there were failures and whether there were gaps and whether changes need to be made. And critically, that's important both for accountability for Kyran and getting justice for what has happened or what may have happened. But it's also critical for child protection going forward. We simply cannot have children at risk in this way. And a situation where a child can go missing and where it takes months and even years before it's spotted.”
Meanwhile, speaking to reporters in Dublin, Mr Harris said there is a “particular element” in the disappearance of the schoolboy that is “difficult to comprehend”.
He said that investigators are pursuing the case with “full vigour and resources”.
Gardaí suspect that Kyran may have died in 2022 when he was aged six.
Last week, gardaí opened a murder investigation months after Kyran was reported missing along with his mother.
The youngster’s mother has been located, but investigators say the whereabouts of Kyran remain unknown and he is now presumed dead.
Mr Harris said: “It is an extraordinary incident. I’ve over 40 years now in the police, and I have not seen really the like.
“I cannot think of a similar set of circumstances, and in that way there’s a particular element to this which is difficult to comprehend. But we have our work to do.
“This is a murder investigation and you can be assured that we are pursuing it with full vigour and resources.”
Mr Harris said he was first made aware of Kyran’s case in early September.
“From the very beginning of this investigation, from August 30, it commenced as a missing persons investigation and then very quickly garda members, their suspicions were aroused and I was briefed on this in early September and visited the investigation teams,” he said.
“We have obviously been very concerned to understand what has happened to Kyran and where this investigation is going to take us.
“I don’t want to comment on what our next steps might be in terms of searches and what other investigative steps we want to take.
“But you can be assured it is fully resourced and it continues at pace.
“We have received a lot of information from the public, certainly since last week, with important information.
“We encourage anyone who might know anything to come forward.
“What we have worked at is to try and identify proof of life since the last actual sighting in 2022, so I cannot comment specifically on whether Kyran reached his seventh or eighth birthday.”
Justice Minister Helen McEntee said the country is devastated over a young boy possibly missing for two years, and not known to anyone, including authorities.
“The death of any child is devastating, particularly where children are vulnerable and where a child is engaged with state agencies or is in our state services, and they are particularly vulnerable. There is an onus to do everything we can to protect them,” the Fine Gael minister said.
“If there was a failure, we have to understand what has occurred here and how we make sure it doesn’t happen again.
“If people need to be held accountable, that happens too.
“The objective here is to find him, we don’t know where he is and the gardai are working hard to do that, to understand what has happened, and if people need to be held accountable, that it happens, because no time, expense, nothing is being spared here.
“Every effort is being made to make sure we can identify where he is and lessons need to be learned here, and changes need to happen.”
It emerged that the Child and Family Agency, Tusla, said it raised a “significant concern” around the missing child to police in August.
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