Seven months on and still no terms of reference for investigation into alleged child abuse and neglect

Fianna Fáil Spokesperson on Children and Youth Affairs, Anne Rabbitte, and Justice Spokesperson, Jim O’ Callaghan, have condemned the Government for its failure to move on the serious incident review that they announced in March of this year.

This review relates to the management of very serious abuse and neglect allegations involving sixteen children in four families. In a response to a parliamentary question, Minister for Children, Katherine Zappone confirmed that seven months after its announcement, the report has not even been commissioned and the terms of reference have not even been finalised yet.

Commenting on this delay, Deputy Rabbitte said, “This is an absolutely disgraceful, and indicative of a government that promises the sun, the moon and stars, yet delivers nothing.

“From a child welfare point of view, it is deeply worrying that we do not have any insight into what happened in this particular case, and what can be learned from it.

Deputy Jim O’ Callaghan added, “While the details of the case have not been made public, I understand that there are some concerns over how this case was handled, and it is vital that we establish the full facts of the matter. It is deeply concerning that Ministers Zappone and Flanagan have failed to finalise the first step in this investigation, the terms of reference,” concluded O’Callaghan.