Protecting children - Never ending challenge we must accept

WHEN the Ryan report was published last May the shocking decades of violence and abuse inflicted on children in care was exposed.

The publication forced us to ask fundamental questions about ourselves and our notion of communal responsibility.

We had to ask why we allowed this terrible, dehumanising behaviour to continue and why we turned a blind eye to it all for so long. We had to ask what we were prepared to do to ensure that vulnerable children would never again be so exposed.

That soul searching continues – it may never end – and the only certainty is that we will not accept circumstances that might facilitate a repeat of even a tiny proportion of the abuse reported by Mr Justice Ryan.

That is why today’s report that the Health Service Executive (HSE) must still use a care home for children despite the fact that it was condemned as unfit for purpose three years ago is so unsettling.

Though there is absolutely no suggestion that children are or were abused at this facility it is unacceptable that they are placed in such an unsuitable environment.

Inspectors from the Social Services Inspectorate (SSI) have put it plainly enough. They have said that the home – a bungalow in a residential setting used for short-term, emergency care for boys and girls – is “characterised by antisocial behaviour” and is “unsafe for vulnerable young people”.

Three years ago an inspectorate report recommended alternative accommodation be found but this has not happened despite ongoing efforts by the HSE. On three occasions the HSE was unable to move to a better facility because of residents’ objections. The HSE can’t consider a greenfield option because of a funding crisis.

The inspectorate has also reported difficulties in other areas of the country and in recent weeks the HSE has confirmed that more than 20 foreign children have gone missing from their care this year. More than 450 have disappeared since 2000.

All of this adds up to a far from reassuring picture. It suggests that we still have a long way to go before we can say that this is a safe society for vulnerable children.

It also presents us with significant challenges in these straitened times. It asks question about the appropriateness of placing troubled children in residential areas.

After all, communities have a right to protect themselves from threats perceived or otherwise. This must be balanced with the needs of at-risk children.

Earlier this month the Government announced a 99-point plan to enhance child protection systems, with special emphasis on the needs of refugee children or children seeking asylum. This will require funding and the HSE faces massive cuts so the challenge to make this a child-safe society seems to get greater every day.

However, it is not one we would want to avoid.