The Ombudsman for Children has written to the Government recommending the establishment of a group to review child deaths in the State.
This follows a number of deaths of children brought to the attention of ombudsman Emily Logan where no independent review took place or key questions remained unanswered about the circumstances of the deaths.
Ms Logan said: "They are typically deaths which are complex by their nature, involving children who were vulnerable or who had complex needs and where a State response was required." She said the State does not have a consistent response to child deaths and often relies on ad-hoc inquiries.
While Ms Logan declined to cite individual cases, children's rights campaigners have expressed concern in recent times regarding a number of young people who died while in care or who were homeless. These cases were never the subject of any major inquiry.
In a recent examination of Ireland's record on respecting children's human rights, the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child indicated that the State should take steps to address this issue. The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child requires countries which have ratified the treaty to recognise the "inherent right to life of every child and ensure to the maximum extent possible the survival and development of the child".
Ms Logan said the establishment of a child-death review mechanism would lead to a deeper understanding of the factors which render children vulnerable and help reduce the number of preventable child deaths.
"This lack of a uniform approach and standard methodology is a serious deficiency in our system of dealing with child death," she said.
"The danger of not having a consistent response is that we will fail to learn lessons or help prevent what may be preventable deaths in the future." Child-death review mechanisms have been established in many countries with the aim of reducing or eliminating the number of preventable child deaths.
For example, they are used in the US, New Zealand, Australia and Canada, while new child-death review procedures will become mandatory in England and Wales from April 2008.
The Department of Health in Northern Ireland has also undertaken a consultation process on the establishment of a regional child-death review protocol.
In a position paper provided to the Government, Ms Logan said a new review group could draw together the expertise of relevant professionals and agencies, rather than replacing the work of any particular body.
The scope of the group's work would leave it uniquely placed to make concrete and realisable recommendations across a wide range of policy areas which it could monitor over time.
Research indicates that child death review models should be carefully tailored to suit the jurisdictions in which they are going to operate. In light of this, the Ombudsman said she will begin consulting with all relevant groups to put together a proposal for a child-death review mechanism in Ireland.
