Children dying in care - Delaying report akin to cover-up

Details of the report into the death of 18-year-old Tracey Fay while in care were published last month.

They provoked political brouhaha over the whole issue of children dying in care. When the Dáil debated the issue, there was a shocking admission that there had been no report published on the death of any child in the care of the state for five years.

Minister for Children and Youth Affairs Barry Andrews said there had been 23 deaths of children in care between 2000 and 2010. But afterwards he admitted that there “was an issue over the figure”. He was not sure it was accurate. Now we know that there was a minimum of 30 deaths, and there might have been as many as 40 or even 50 deaths.