'Serious questions must be asked' as 42 children in State care die in a decade

A further 164 children who were known to Tusla but had not been taken into care also died over the period

Peadar Toibin of Aontu says quesions need to be asked about the number of children dying in state care. File Picture: Collins

Eighteen children in state care died by suicide or drug overdose over a nine-year period, new figures have shown.

Figures obtained by Aontú leader Peadar Tóibín in a parliamentary question show that over the space of a decade, 206 children died while either in State care or while known to child protection services. Of the 42 children who died while they were in State care, twelve died by suicide, six died by drug overdoses, 17 died from natural causes, and one was murdered.