There were no child protection concerns in interactions between an Irish State agency and the family of a boy now feared dead, according to the organisation’s chief executive.
Irish police are investigating the disappearance and whereabouts of the boy, who would be seven-years-old if still alive, and last lived in an apartment in the Donabate area of Dublin.
A search of open ground began in Donabate this week after concerns for the boy were raised by Ireland’s child and family agency Tusla on Friday.
The agency had previously engaged with the missing child’s family five years ago.
This is the second case of a child living in Ireland who was missing for years before the case came to the attention of authorities.
Kyran Durnin, who would be nine this year if still alive, was reported missing in August last year and a murder investigation was launched in October.
As a result, questions have arisen about the child and family agency, in particular its actions during the Covid-19 pandemic.
On Thursday, Tusla CEO Kate Duggan described the case of the missing boy in Donabate as “really awful and harrowing”.
She said there had been “misinformation” surrounding the case and added that she wanted to be as transparent as possible.
However, she said she had to respect the legal rights of individuals involved and calls from the Garda Commissioner not to say anything that may impact the investigation.
Ms Duggan said: “This boy was known to us, and his family had made contact with us, and we provided them with care and support from the period 2017 to 2020, and that was primarily intensive and direct parenting supports.”
She added: “The reports that I’ve received from that service is that there were not child protection concerns in relation to this family, and that our intervention and our engagement with this family certainly centred around support.”
She further insisted that the case of the boy in the Donabate search was not closed due to Covid-19.
She said the closure of the case was because it was deemed to be “the most appropriate step to take”.
However, the agency is also examining the undertaking of “wellbeing checks” on up to 38,000 cases that were closed during Covid-19 following concerns raised by Children’s Minister Norma Foley.
Ms Duggan told RTE radio that the National Review Panel was now establishing all of the facts of the case across Tusla as well as health and social care services.
It said it would determine if the services and the response of the State was appropriate to the needs of the child and family.
Ms Duggan also said that while there were similarities with the Kyran Durnin case, there were also differences.
Meanwhile, the head of Ireland’s healthcare service has said authorities should be given space to investigate the case.
Bernard Gloster, who was in charge of the child and family agency when the boy is thought to have gone missing, said child protection cases are “exceptionally complex” and there are “no simple answers”.
The HSE CEO further echoed the calls of Taoiseach Micheal Martin and Justice Minister Jim O’Callaghan to “pause” until further information is known.
He also said that there will be people who are grieving and in distress about the case and this should be borne in mind.
“We should allow the gardai to do their work, we should allow the National Review Panel, which was established over 15 years ago, long before Tusla was established, to do their work and to tell us what happened.”
He added: “Child protection and child welfare is an exceptionally complex phenomena. There are no simple answers or simple solutions.
“We do have to continuously reflect, learn and improve, and we have to wait and see what is the outcome of the review in any of these cases, and at the same time always remember that there is likely to be a child who has died, and that is very, very tragic.”
Justice Minister Jim O’Callaghan said “we don’t have all the information yet” about the case.
“It’s a developing story and I know the gardai are doing very difficult work out in Donabate.”
