More tragic deaths - Harrowing indictment

IT is tragic that up to 35 children or teenagers, known to protection services, have died since March of last year.

That we knew of their difficulties only adds to the concerns focussed on this area. A tiny minority were in formal care.

HSE figures published yesterday underline how very difficult this area is. Some deaths were caused by drug overdoses, others by suicide or medical issues. Some may have been preventable but, tragically, others probably were not.

There is not a person in this country, certainly not a parent or a social worker, who would not want to put the services that would prevent these deaths in place. That we have such difficulty in doing so is a consequence of our economic collapse. What a high price these young people, and their families, have paid for this society’s greed and self-delusion.