FINE GAEL spokesman on children Alan Shatter has claimed the HSE did not publish the report into Tracey Fay’s death because it wanted to protect itself and protect the former health boards.
Mr Shatter said yesterday the HSE and the Minister for Children should admit that the real reason they did not publish the report, and reports into the deaths of at least six other teenagers, was not out of concern for their families “but to hide the failures of the former health boards and the HSE to provide these young people with the care and protection to which they were entitled”.
The HSE report into the 2002 death of the 18-year-old mother of two was published by Mr Shatter this week. It strongly criticises the State’s “chaotic” provision of care accommodation and highlights the missed opportunities to protect Ms Fay.
Mr Shatter also accused Minister of State for Children Barry Andrews and the HSE of misleading the public as to the extent of the efforts made to contact Ms Fay’s family. Mr Andrews had said that since the report was finalised, the HSE had been in touch with Ms Fay’s mother and had been seeking to share the report with her, but due to her illness the consultation could not take place.
But in an interview in yesterday’s Irish Daily Mail, Tracey Fay’s mother Doreen Curley said the HSE had only contacted her before Christmas to say the report was coming out and had then contacted her on Wednesday to say it was being leaked by Fine Gael.
“I am calling on the Minister for Children and the HSE to immediately publish all existing reports into the deaths of children in care.
“The veil of secrecy they have drawn over these tragic deaths must be lifted and the light let in to our childcare and protection services,” Mr Shatter said.
In the newspaper interview, Ms Curley said her decision to put her daughter in care was the worst thing she had ever done. She said Tracey had refused to go to England with her when she was 14 and her only option was to put her into care. Ms Curley also denied she had been violent towards her daughter. She rejected a claim in the HSE report that she had knocked out Tracey’s teeth when she was seven. She said the teeth were knocked out by someone else in a hostel.
Meanwhile, Mr Andrews said there was no guarantee that other children would not be involved in serious incidents or die in care. He said there had been “drastic” improvements since Ms Fay was in the care system and if she was alive today, she would benefit from them. “But we cannot guarantee that, with the chaotic background and challenging behaviour of some of these children, there will not be unfortunate incidents again in the future.”
Speaking at an event in Dublin, Mr Andrews said it was impossible to give such guarantees, “short of locking them up and the High Court has made it clear that that can only be done in a very limited circumstance and for a very limited period”.
Taoiseach Brian Cowen also noted improvements in the child care system when he was asked about the issue in Offaly yesterday.
He said Ms Fay was failed by the State in “this unfortunate case” and it was an area that must be continually monitored. “Over €15 million extra was made available this year for more resources for the protection of children in care.”
Meanwhile, the Irish Foster Care Association and the Association of Young People in Care have criticised the leaking of the report into Ms Fay’s life and death.
In a joint statement, the organisations said Mr Shatter had “seriously breached young people’s rights to privacy and confidentiality while in the care of the HSE” by publishing the case review.
“Young people in the care system are very conscious of the fact that all details of their life in care is recorded and find it difficult to open up to social workers and others with responsibility for their care. How much more difficult will it be now for those children and young people to feel confident that their personal records will be kept secure?”
The bodies also urged the media to act responsibly in reporting such cases and asked if it was fair that Ms Fay’s two young children could see her life story sensationalised in newspapers.
