Children in Ireland are suffering horrifically. Children who could and should have been protected, are literally dying because the child protection system is unfit for purpose, and desperately needs ‘root-and-branch’ reform.
A report into the deaths of children whilst in state care in the Republic of Ireland, concluded that the majority of kids did not receive an adequate child protection service. The report examined 196 cases in which a child or young person died between 2000 and 2010. It found 112 of the deaths may have been preventable.
THESE CHILDREN CANNOT PROTECT THEMSELVES. THEY NEED YOUR HELP. The system as it is, is failing them. ARE THEY INVISIBLE TO YOU TOO?
TAKE ACTION FOR CHANGE NOW and support our Change4Children Campaign!
Members of the Legislative Assembly were elected to REPRESENT YOU. Please spare a moment to send a message urging your MLA to make genuine child protection reform a top priority on the political agenda.
- Click on this link.
- Copy the message at the bottom of this note (in ittalic type).
- Follow the instructions to find your MLA by typing in your postcode.
- Paste the message in the form, remember to change your name/MLA’s name.
- Hit send.
- Please send the same message to your representative in the House Of Commons, Nigel Dodds MP, via the same website.
- SHARE THIS NOTE with your friends.
- BE PROUD, you did something to change the world for the better for children! :D
PLEASE TAKE A SECOND TO SIGN AND SHARE THIS PETITION:
As ever, we are so grateful for each and every action you take to create a safer, healthier, better world for children. Without the actions of you all, we would be unable to even try to do a thing to change these horrible realities. PLEASE SHARE: with every person who becomes aware, takes action and passes this along, our voice becomes louder and more likely to be heard.
Together, we WILL make a difference.
~A.A.A
Dear [MLA]
I am writting to you to express my deep concern about the effectiveness of our Child Protection System, following the recent report into child deaths while in care of the state.
A report by the Independent Child Death Review Group concluded that at-risk children are not recieving adequate care and protection from harm. 112 out of 196 non-natural deaths of children under state protection in the last 10 years could have been prevented. This figure is absolutely unacceptable, shameful, and very sad.
Problem issues identified by the report included many that have been identified multiple times over the years by various reports and case reviews:
- A Lack of proper co-ordination between state agencies, resulting in fragmented service delivery and inability to plan appropriately in order to meet a child’s needs.
- Poor record keeping, compounding the problem above.
- Inadequate risk assesment
- Instances where social work involvement ceased despite the presence of ongoing risk factors, and children were ‘invisible’ to the very authorities responsible for their care.
The report recommends root-and-branch reform of the child protection system.
A review commissioned by the HSE and published in 2010 had already observed that the Children and Family Services lacked direction, required leadership and operated inconsistently. This recent report has provided further evidence of the need for radical reform of child services.
Given the shameful history of child abuse and child protection failings across the board, we MUST ensure the rights and well-being of the children of Ireland are no longer abused, denied and ignored. We MUST stop it here and now, today. We owe it to the next generation of youth, AND those struggling today because of past failings.
I urge you to prioritise these issues as a matter of urgency and do everything within your power to increase awareness of these issues. I ask you and your colleagues to commit the time, resources and genuine intent to the very difficult task of honestly examining the root causes and perpetuating factors that contribute to the suffering of Irelands’ sons and daughters. Only then will effective solutions be identified and implemented.
Thank you for your time.
Yours sincerely
[Your Name]
Action Against Abuse 
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