Child protection issues - Continually letting the young down

As a largely Christian country, we profess to be particularly concerned about the welfare of children, but ultimately we have had a dismal record when it comes to the protection of vulnerable young people.

This issue has been at the heart of some of the biggest scandals that have rocked this country in the last three-quarters of the century.

The controversial Mother and Child Bill in the 1950s, was designed to tackle the country’s high infant mortality rate — at the time, the highest in Western Europe.