A young child known to Tusla, who died “accidentally”, had been waiting on a social worker waiting list for an “unacceptable” period at the time of his death, a report published on Thursday finds.
In another case, a young man (20) known to Tusla as a child due to his mother’s and his own addiction problems died in aftercare.
“He was not given the benefit of a child protection conference until ... approximately three years after his first overdose and a few months after his second near-fatal overdose,” said a report on his case from the National Review Panel.
These were among four cases detailed by the review panel alongside its 2025 annual report on Thursday.
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The panel, independent of Tusla, reviews cases of children known to the child and family agency, in its care or in aftercare at the time of their deaths.
A total of 23 deaths of children and young people in aftercare or known to Tusla were notified to the panel last year, up four compared with 2024.
None of those referred last year was in Tusla care.
Four of the young people were in aftercare and 19 were children known to the child and family agency.
Of those who died, five were of natural causes, including sudden infant death syndrome (Sids), or cot death.
Four young people died from suicide and three died in accidents. Three deaths were the result of homicide.
“Where a coroner or postmortem has not reached a conclusion as to the cause of death, it is listed as unknown,” notes the report.
Five babies – three boys and two girls aged under 12 months – died as a result of Sids.
Four boys aged between one and five years died, as did two boys between six and 10. The panel reviewed the deaths of two boys and four girls between ages 11 and 16 years, and of three boys or young men and four girls or young women aged between 17 and 20 years.
The case of one young woman, aged 20 or older, who died while in aftercare, was reviewed.
In the 15 years between February 2010 and the end of 2025, the panel has reviewed the deaths of 357 children or young people.
“As each of the foregoing annual reports has highlighted, the children and young people whose deaths were notified during that 15-year period were also involved with a range of different systems including health, mental health, and youth justice [as well as Tusla].”
Over the 15 years, 78 cases were of children or young people who died by suicide.
“It is clear that referral of young people with suicidal ideation to Camhs [the Health Service Executive’s child and adolescent mental health service] continues to be generally ineffective,” says the report.
“To be eligible for a CAMHS service, it was necessary for a young person to have a diagnosed treatable mental illness. Suicidal ideation alone does not meet the eligibility criteria.
“It appears to be the case that if a young person who self-harms is admitted to hospital, they may be referred to Camhs but subsequently discharged from that service because they are not deemed to be mentally ill.”
