Deaths of 19 children and young people notified to National Review Board last year

Irish Independent

24-07-2025

Tusla is required to notify the panel of serious incidents, including the deaths of children and young people in foster or residential care and those that lived in their community with their family and were in receipt of services from the child and family agency.
None of the deaths notified to the NRP last year related to children in care.
Two related to young people receiving aftercare services and the remaining 17 notifications related to children who were living with their families in the community.
Eight died as a result of natural causes, including Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, last year.
Four young people died by suicide and two died in accidents, while five had their cause of death listed as 'unknown', where the coroner or post mortem has not reached a conclusion.
The figures published in the NRP annual report showed the majority of deaths occurred in two age cohorts. Infants under 12 months accounted for nine of the deaths notified to the panel, while there were four deaths reported in the 11 to 16 year-old age group.
Six serious incidents were also reported to the panel last year, which are defined as any events that may have caused potentially life-threatening injury or serious and permanent impairment of health, wellbeing, or development of a child or young person.
Three related to children in care, one related to a child in aftercare or in care immediately before their 18th birthday and two related to children or young people known to social work services.
Examples of serious incidents that were notified include children still living who were known to Tusla and were found to have been neglected or abused, sexually exploited, exposed to potentially harmful situations or involved in non-fatal accidents.
The NRP reports on individual deaths of children in Tusla's care, or known to it, are published periodically on the agency's website.
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Four anonymised reports were published by the NRP last year following reviews of the deaths of an infant who died as a result of an accident; a teenage boy with special needs who died accidentally; and the separate cases of two young girls, aged 14 and 17 respectively, who died from suicide.
None of the four deaths that were the focus of reviews that were published last year occurred in 2024, but occurred in the years prior.
Both reviews relating to the separate accidental deaths of an infant and a teenage boy found that 'the circumstances of their deaths could not have been predicted or prevented by services'.
In one case where a child died accidentally, Tusla services had very little contact with the family and had put in place a safety plan.
In the other case involving a child who died in an accident, a safety plan was also in place, with the report noting: 'An allocated social worker was actively involved trying to complete information for an assessment and the review found weaknesses with regard to the transfer of information between administrative areas and inconsistent application of the Child Abuse Substantiation Procedure'.
The review of the case of a 14-year-old girl who died from suicide was also published last year, with the report noting that she had been in care for a number of years and had numerous placement breakdowns.
"She had settled after a period in special care but sadly took her own life following an incident where she had seriously assaulted a staff member when she was in a step-down placement.'
It found that she had received 'disjointed mental health care, which prevented her from making a trusting relationship with a clinician' and noted that social work shortages and a lack of suitable placements had a negative impact on the way the case was managed.
In a review of the case of a 17-year-old girl who died from suicide, the report said a social worker had been allocated and the case 'had been the subject of many discussions between the HSE and Tusla regarding ownership of professional responsibility for keeping the young person safe'.
She was known to mental health services for some time prior to her death and had several admissions to psychiatric hospitals before she was referred to Tusla, with the review finding that the case 'lacked a single integrated approach between the HSE and Tusla with no agreement as to which case should lead the coordination of professional input'.
Commenting on the publication of the NRP annual report, chairperson Dr Helen Buckley said: 'On behalf of the NRP I wish to extend my sincere sympathies to families, friends, guardians and all those affected by the deaths of the children and young people reviewed by the National Review Panel in 2024.
"The death of a child is an unthinkable tragedy and one which has a profound effect on many.'
The report made a series of recommendations relating to frontline services, availability of suitable placements and interagency working between Tusla and the HSE particularly in relation to mental health services.
"As with previous years, suicide is one of the biggest factors in the death of young people and a stronger inter-agency approach is needed to fully support our young people experiencing mental health difficulties,' said Dr Buckley.
"I would like to express my appreciation to the family members who participated in interviews last year and gave us valuable insight into their situations as service users. We acknowledge that the experience was, at times, difficult for them.
"We also express appreciation for the willingness of professionals to speak with us and acknowledge that it was a stressful experience for many of them. I would also like to express my thanks to the Tusla staff who supported the NRP and families throughout the interview process.'