State of the nation - Snarling back at critics isn’t good enough

THERE are more than 5,000 children in care in Ireland.

HSE figures from the end of June reveal that the vast majority were in foster care where they were no doubt cherished and well looked after. A further 423 children were in residential care and another 179 are in “other” arrangements.

For such a small population these figures are significant but they should not be taken as being comprehensive. Every juvenile court in the country throws up children already on the slippery slope towards desperate lives of recidivism and exclusion.