An Irish Senator has said she is “horrified” at the number of children and youths committing suicide while in State care.
The comments were made in the Seanad yesterday by Senator Sharon Keogan during a discussion about the mother and baby homes redress scheme.
“Yesterday, €800 million was allocated to the mother and baby homes redress scheme, and rightly so,” she said.
“What have we learned as a nation, however, and are the mistakes of today going to be our horror stories of tomorrow?”
The senator went on to say that she was “horrified” by a report from the national review panel on children and young people in State care.
“Since 2010, 236 deaths have been reported, and 56 of these were through suicide. Last year, 30 children died in care, seven through suicide.
“One of these, whom I knew through the emergency services, was in a residential placement home, while six were in after-care and 23 of the young people lived in communities and were known to Tusla with supported services.”
Keogan stated that she had worked with emergency services before, and claimed there was no “love or support network” in the State’s system and that children were dying “because of neglect by the State.”
“People on call for a week might get a child in the middle of the night and they keep the child for three nights,” she said.
“There will be somebody else to take that bed in the following three nights. These are young teenagers, unloved and unwanted, who then go into residential placements. Those placements are in a residential home, where social workers look after these children. There is no family unit or love and support network there. Children are dying today because of neglect by the State.”
The Senator called on families to consider fostering children and young people in need of a home.
“There are some fantastic foster parents and foster families out there, so I plead with our nation and with those who have homes, beds and spare rooms in their houses to please consider fostering these children,” she said.
“They come with their trials and their baggage, but there is no child that we cannot help. We must give these children every possible support.”
She concluded: “It is wrong that children are dying in the hands of the State. It is absolutely wrong that they are taking their own lives because they see no way out of the system they are in.”