Sharon Keogan demands urgent debate on child protection failures
Sharon Keogan warned the state's protection of vulnerable children is failing, citing court evidence of children in state care exposed to exploitation and left without allocated social workers. She called for an urgent parliamentary debate on compliance with child protection orders, the use of unregulated emergency placements, inter-agency safeguarding including the Gardaí, and persistent failures to allocate social workers.
Court evidence of exploitation
One teenage girl under an interim care order repeatedly went missing while in state care and was allegedly sexually abused by adult men across the city. Keogan said agencies responsible for the child did not account for her movements and objectively failed to keep her safe, and she asked where the Gardaí were and whether all appropriate safeguarding and investigative measures had been activated in time.
Systemic administrative failures
Keogan detailed cases in which, despite direct court orders, children were left for months without allocated social workers and official records contained glaring errors, including a record of annual contact with a father who was long deceased. She warned these are not isolated mistakes but evidence that basic oversight has broken down, with interim care orders extended indefinitely and unregulated emergency arrangements becoming the default.
Judicial impact and accountability
Judges, Keogan said, are being forced to repeatedly recall cases merely to preserve accountability. She cited the child law project’s documentation of recurring failures and said the pattern shows the system has lost command of basic oversight and safeguards.
Political and moral critique
Keogan criticised what she called a moral confusion in public debate, noting politicians who condemn harmful artificial images involving children have been much quieter when confronted with documented cases of actual sexual abuse within state-managed systems. She said the imbalance risks replacing substantive action with performative outrage.
Call for urgent parliamentary debate
Keogan urged the house to schedule an urgent debate on compliance with child protection orders, the continued use of unregulated emergency places, the role of inter-agency safeguarding including the Gardaí, and persistent failures to allocate social workers to children already in care. She closed her remarks with the words recorded in the chamber: Go ra maigat. Go ra maigat.
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I rise this morning because of the state's protection of vulnerable children is once again failing in ways that should be deeply troubling to this house. In recent weeks, the courts have heard evidence of children placed in state care who were left without proper supervision, without allocated social workers and exposed to serious exploitation. One teenage girl, already under interim care order, went missing repeatedly while in care and was allegedly sexually abused by adult men across the city. Yet the agencies responsible for her did not account for her movements and objectively failed to keep her safe. In circumstances where a child is repeatedly reported missing, where serious criminal abuse is alleged and where sexual exploitation is openly discussed in court, it is reasonable to ask where were the Gardaí in these cases and was every appropriate safeguarding and investigative measure activated in time. In another series of cases, despite direct court orders, children were left for months without allocated social workers. In one case, official records show a child having annual contact with a father who was long deceased. That is not a minor error. It is evidence of a system that has lost command of basic oversight. These failures are not isolated. They mirror what the child law project has consistently documented. Interim care orders extended indefinitely. Unregulated emergency arrangements become the default. And judges are forced to repeatedly recall cases just to maintain accountability. What is especially troubling is the moral confusion that now surrounds these failures. While many Irish politicians are quick and rightly so to condemn the creation of harmful artificial images involving children. They have been far quieter when confronted with the real documented cases of the actual sexual abuse of minors occurring today within state managed systems. This imbalance discredits public debate and those involved and suggests a troubling preference for performative outrage over confronting reality. Children do not consent to chaos. They do not consent to drifting between placements or protection that exists only on paper. I am asking that this house schedules an urgent debate on the compliance with child protection orders, the continued use of unregulated emergency places, the role of inter-agency safeguarding, including on Garda Síochána, and the persistent failures to allocate social workers to children already in care. Before yet another judge is left asking how the obvious was allowed to happen. Go ra maigat. Go ra maigat.
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