State must act decisively to protect our children

While the publication of the Independent Child Death Review Group’s report is undoubtedly welcomed, its mere disclosure into the public domain does not guarantee that our society will adequately change its practices into how it deals with our most vulnerable children.

The sheer scale of the findings shows a shocking lack of critical, early support in how the State’s child care system deals with at-risk children who come to its attention. But, to say that these findings are surprising would be misleading.

For more than 20 years many social workers at the frontline of our child care services have been describing the difficulties and constrictions that have blocked them from adequately carrying out their potentially life-saving work.