The Irish Times welcomes the publication by Frances Fitzgerald (Ireland’s Children’s Minister) of
the task force report. The report recommends a single agency for support,
safeguarding and protection of children and young people, a policy that the
government will now pursue. The editorial also welcomes the recognition of the
importance of preventative work and early intervention.
It’s good to see positive developments in Ireland but I
think the Irish Times is too hopeful. However good the reforms are – and they
certainly seem promising – they will never ensure that “… past mistakes by
professionals in the protection of vulnerable children will not happen again”;
they will only reduce the probability of re-occurrence.
