The Minister for Health, Mr Martin, has asked the Eastern Regional Health Authority (ERHA) and the Garda to report to him on how 15-year-old Kim O'Donovan went untraced for a month before her death from a drug overdose.
The Minister told The Irish Times last night that he was seriously concerned about the gap in time between when Kim went missing from health board care on July 28th and her death in a Dublin guesthouse on Thursday.
The girl's body was found in an upstairs room in the Pillar B & B, Talbot Street, in Dublin city centre. A man in his 20s who was with her at the time was questioned by gardai in Store Street station and later released. Mr Martin said he wanted both reports before the end of next week and the ERHA. He described the case as tragic and extended his sympathies to Kim's family. In a statement, her adoptive parents, Mr Ronnie and Mrs Maura O'Donovan, described Kim as their "treasure". They said she was loved by her family and friends but was always disturbed.
Barnardos, the children's charity, called for an independent public inquiry into Kim's death.
Its chief executive, Mr Owen Keenan, said the tragedy suggested the State's system of care had failed the girl "as it fails a significant proportion of the children and young people in that system".
Gardai said last night they were continuing to investigate all circumstances surrounding her death. They said they were awaiting toxicology reports, following a post-mortem by the State Pathologist, before they could establish the exact cause of her death.
Earlier yesterday the Garda Siochana defended its handling of her disappearance, saying its officers had done all they could to trace the 15-year-old.
The Garda Press Office said all Garda stations were notified of her disappearance and circulated with her details.
Ms Roisin Shortall, Labour spokeswoman on education and children, said the death was "yet another in the litany of indictments of our care system and our drug-treatment facilities". She called on the Garda ana to state what actions it had taken to track Kim down, once she was reported missing.
According to the South Western Area Health Board in Dublin, five Garda stations were initially contacted when Kim disappeared. Since July 28th health board officials had been in contact with eight stations.
Ms Monica Egan, president of the Irish Social Workers' Association, called for a more flexible approach and a wider variety of services for adolescents with difficulties.
A spokeswoman for the South Western Area Health Board, from whose care Kim absconded, said there was no question of it reviewing its current care programme at high support units such as Newtown House, Co Wicklow, where Kim had stayed before she disappeared.
Gardai say they did their best to trace girl; Government defends care system after criticism over girl's death; Friends deny claims she was a drug addict; Limited range of drug treatment services available for the young; Drug abuse more prevalent in Dublin than many other European cities: page 4