Child protection scandal deadlock: Red-tape delays unacceptable

WHEN the “Grace” childcare scandal broke, one provoked by allegations of the most serious abuse in a foster care setting, it was as if a stone had been turned over and the darkest episodes in our history had returned to haunt and mock us. 

Those tragedies of inadequate care, maladministration, and abuse were supposed to be part of our history, not something that roared, unfinished, at us from the pending tray.

That scandal is exacerbated by the revelation that child protection staff named in the foster home sex abuse scandal have not been risk assessed or even temporarily transferred because red tape is, according to the HSE, preventing them from “inappropriately” identifying them.

The principle of innocent-until-proven-guilty is a cherished cornerstone of our way of doing things but extending that to allow staff implicated in the most serious way to deflect what seems to be entirely appropriate and pressing inquiries is simply wrong. It should be possible to move staff without making a judgment, without implying wrongdoing or prejudging anyone’s innocence or guilt. How else can the State ensure that children in its care are not left in what may be vulnerable situations?

Hiding behind legal niceties is a common enough in public life but a way must be found to intervene immediately when the wellbeing of children is at issue. Not to do so, after all, has the potential to exacerbate an already fraught situation.