The Ombudsman for Children has said a new statutory review mechanism for examining child deaths must be urgently established in the wake of Daniel Aruebose’s death.
Dr Niall Muldoon said the “devastatingly sad” case leaves the State with “serious questions to answer”.
Partial skeletal remains discovered by gardaí on Wednesday just outside Donabate, north Dublin, are believed to be those of the missing boy. He was last seen four years ago, but the alarm was only raised last month.
Daniel, who should be approaching his eighth birthday, spent the first 18 months of his life in foster care before being reunited with his family. Tusla engaged with Daniel’s family from his birth in December 2017 onwards, but closed the case file in 2020.
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The child and family agency is currently conducting a review of its engagement and its report will be sent to the National Review Panel. The panel, which is independent from Tusla, investigates serious incidents including the deaths of children known to the child protection system. It can make recommendations, but is not based on a statutory footing.
Dr Muldoon said the fact that Daniel “could have disappeared without anyone noticing is shocking” but “the fact he is the second young child to disappear in the past 12 months leaves the whole of the State with serious questions to answer”.
The alarm was raised about Daniel in late August, a year after the country was shocked to learn of the disappearance of Kyran Durnin, a young boy from Co Louth. Gardaí believe he was killed in about June 2022 and that his remains were disposed of to conceal what had happened. However, more than two years elapsed before the alarm was raised.
Dr Muldoon questioned what mechanism would be available to examine Daniel’s death if Tusla had not engaged with his family when he was younger.
“In Daniel’s case he was known to Tusla and thus the NRP is the designated vehicle for such a review, but what if Daniel had not been known to Tusla and we found out a child had disappeared for four years?
“As things stand there would have been no way to examine state agencies’ interaction with him, and to find out what happened.”
Dr Muldoon said any review into Daniel’s death needs to not only examine Tusla’s role “but all other public agencies”.
“I do not believe the National Review Panel [NRP] can carry out such a wide-ranging review.”
The office of the Ombudsman for Children has long recommended the establishment of a new statutory child death review mechanism. This proposal was accepted by the Fianna Fáil-Fine Gael Coalition and is included in the Programme for Government.
Dr Muldoon recently wrote to Taoiseach Micheál Martin’s office seeking an update on this process.
“We await a response from the Taoiseach on when a lead Department for the Child Death Review Mechanism will be appointed,” he said.
A spokeswoman said the Department of Children welcomes the fact a commitment to establishing the new mechanism has been included in the Programme for Government.
“Officials within this Department will proactively engage with the nominated lead department responsible for the delivery of a National Child Death Review Mechanism,” she said.
A spokeswoman for Tusla said the agency “recognises the need for and value of a statutory basis” for a mechanism that examines children’s death.
“Tusla will fully support any work to progress this objective with the Department of Children, Disability and Equality.”
Tusla’s review of its engagement in the Daniel Aruebose case will be given to Minister for Children Norma Foley by the end of this month.
