The Aontú Leader Peadar Tóibín TD has described as ‘extremely concerning’ fresh figures released to him which show that 68,625 children have been reported missing to Gardaí since 2015.
The Meath West TD said: “There are very serious questions for the State to answer about the numbers of children going missing in Ireland, in particular children who are in State care or known to child protection services. Aontú is calling for clarity from the Gardaí on the outcomes for these 70,000 children.”
Deputy Tóibín added: “We can also see that since 2014 235 children either in care or known to Tusla have died. Ten were murdered and 51 died either by suicide or drug overdose.”
“The 1916 proclamation said that we should cherish all the children of the nation equally. However, children’s rights is one area where the government is failing horrendously. Every day we see headlines whether its children dying on hospital waiting lists, or children with additional needs being excluded from education, waiting lists for assessments of need, or the 5,000 homeless children currently in the country.”
