Child abuse - Failing to protect our children

THE extraordinary delays in investigating complaints of child abuse, up to 60% outstanding, must give rise to concern that inefficiency in some Health Services Executive (HSE) areas is contributing to that abuse.

The health services received more than 6,000 reports of child abuse in 2004 and a year and a half later considerably less than half of them — 40% — have been dealt with.

Given that not every single report will be genuine, neither can it be assumed that the figures illustrate a complete picture, for the simple reason that not all child abuse — physical, sexual or mental — is reported.