Yearly Archives: 2017

From last night’s RTÉ Investigates programme Chaos In Care

Last night.

On RTÉ One.

Aoife Hegarty, of RTÉ Investigates, presented a report entitled Chaos In Care.

It examined how certain vulnerable children, in the care of the State, have been harrowingly failed by the State.

It also looked at cases from the report published yesterday by the Special Rapporteur on Child Protection Dr Geoffrey Shannon which looked at the use of Section 12 of the Child Care Act 1991 by An Garda Siochana.

Section 12 of the act allows gardai to remove a child if they believe there is a serious risk to the child’s health or welfare.

In one particular case, Ms Hegarty reported:

In 2011 a young boy living in voluntary foster care – who we’ve named ‘Mark’ – told his birth mother [‘Susan’] he had been inappropriately touched by another, male foster child twice his age who was also living with the same foster family.

‘Susan’ – which is not her real name – discovered ‘Mark’ had made a similar allegation to his foster parent 5 weeks earlier but it had not been reported to the HSE.

‘Susan’ asked to have ‘Mark’ moved from the foster placement while an investigation took place – this did not happen. 

Instead a safety plan was put in place by the HSE. – this consisted of little more than an instruction to the foster parents that the two boys – who had been sharing a bedroom – “should have separate bedrooms and that the [foster] carers should supervise” them closely.

Two months later, the HSE referred ‘Mark’ for assessment by child sexual abuse experts.

The experts concluded that ‘Mark’ gave “a credible account of experiencing inappropriate sexual behaviour by his foster sibling”.

But while ‘Mark’ was assessed, it appears from case notes that his foster sibling was not.

Over the following months ‘Mark’ displayed sexualised behaviour and ‘Susan’ repeatedly reported this to the social work department.

[‘Susan’ said: “He was using his teddy bear to, pushing it up against his genitals, it was like he was imitating what had been done to him. Yeah he was saying ‘touch me you cunt’, he tried to kiss his older brother, he put his hand on his inner thigh and tried to kiss him in an adult way.”]

‘Susan’ believed her concerns were not being taken seriously by social workers so she reported the matter to the Gardaí asking them to investigate. 

In fact cases notes seen by RTÉ Investigates show that An Garda Síochána were “…quite irate…” at the management of Mark’s case by the HSE social work department – stating that the Gardaí…. “Would have a different view of child sexual abuse…” The HSE decided to leave ‘Mark’ in the foster home despite his birth mother’s concerns.

Almost 3 years later… ‘Mark’ made a second allegation – this time to a TUSLA staff member that he was being punched by the same older foster child AND by an adult son of the foster family.

The foster parents were again advised by the social work department to “increase supervision” of the boys and ‘Susan’ was informed about the allegation.

In late 2015 TUSLA applied to the courts for a full care order for ‘Mark’. 

As part of the court process ‘Susan’ was required to produce two psychiatric assessment reports carried out on the state of her mental health. ‘Susan’ agreed.

But what ‘Susan’ didn’t understand was that she would be personally billed by her doctor for the reports – €500 for the first report and €300 for the second one. 

On one occasion she was forced to take out a loan from her credit union to cover the cost.

In an initial statement to RTÉ, TUSLA said it “…does not require individuals to undertake psychiatric assessments at their own expense…”

However when we went back and asked TUSLA to explain why ‘Susan’ ended up paying  her doctors bill, a spokesperson said they “…cannot comment on individual cases…”

Last year the court ruled that ‘Mark’ will stay in care until the age of 18.

‘Mark’ continues to live with the same foster family to the present day – along with the older child alleged to have previously abused him.

Watch Chaos In Care in full here


The impressive ouevre of Sutherland Macdonald,  Britain’s first professional tattoo artist.

Having first encountered the art in the 1880s during his time in the army, Macdonald set up his parlour at the Hamam Turkish Baths at 76 Jermyn Street in London in 1889.

For the next four years, it was the only place a chep (or a doughty gel) could get properly inked-up anywhere in Blighty.

mymodernmet

From top: Head of internal audit at An Garda Siochana Niall Kelly; head of human resources at An Garda Siochana John Barrett

Tomorrow.

At the Public Accounts Committee.

The Garda College interim audit report – which lays out serious financial irregularities at the college in Templemore, Co Tippeary – will be further discussed.

Those expected to attend include:

Niall Kelly – Head of Internal Audit (author of the audit report); John Barrett – Executive Director, Human Resources and People Development; Michael Culhane – Executive Director, Finance and Services; Ken Ruane – Head of Legal Services; Joseph Nugent – Chief Administrative Officer; Michael Howard – former Head of the Garda Audit Committee.

Readers will recall how on May 4, during a PAC meeting, Garda Commissioner Noirin O’Sullivan said she first learned of the issues at Templemore from head of human resources at An Garda Siochana John Barrett during a “very brief conversation” on July 27, 2015 while they were having tea.

Mr Barrett maintained it lasted for more than two hours.

Further to this, Mr Barrett later released a 122-page file to PAC, which contained a letter he had written to the Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) of An Garda Siochana Cyril Dunne, on September 20, 2015, giving details of the meeting.

Those who were present at the meeting included Mr Barrett, Ms O’Sullivan, Mr Dunne, Deputy Commissioner Dónall Ó Cualáin and Assistant Commissioner John Twomey.

This letter can be read here.

In addition.

Readers will recall how Niall Kelly explained, in his interim report of February 2017, that he deleted a paragraph (above) from the final version of a report on the Garda College in 2011.

He claims he deleted the paragraph after he was assured that the issues were addressed by Executive Director, Finance and Services Michael Culhane.

At the PAC meeting of May 4, Mr Kelly said he felt he had been “duped” and that he was caught in the “circling of wagons”.

During the PAC meeting, Sinn Féin TD David Cullinane  had the following exchange with Mr Kelly and Mr Culhane.

David Cullinane: “Page 14 of the report refers to the Garda Commissioner and 2 March 2011 and contains a paragraph which says “no assurances were given”. That paragraph was removed and deleted and Mr. Kelly said this was because he was given assurances.”

Niall Kelly: “I was provided with a summarised report from Mr Culhane and assurances that the issues were being dealt with.”

Cullinane: “Did Mr. Culhane give the assurances to Mr. Kelly?”

Michael Culhane: “I did not give them directly to Mr Kelly. It went to the CAO [Cyril Dunne] showing the progress that had been made on some of the issues.”

Cullinane: “However, the assurances were given by Mr. Culhane. The CAO was the conduit but the assurances were given by Mr. Culhane.”

Culhane: “I did not give assurances. I gave an update on the report.”

Cullinane: “However, Mr Kelly saw this as assurances because he said he deleted the paragraph because of assurances that were given.”

Kelly: “Yes. I had conversations with the audit committee.”

Cullinane: “Who gave Mr. Kelly the assurances he talked about?”

Kelly: “I got the report. I spoke to the CAO at the time. I spoke to the chairman of the audit committee at the time. It had gone to the Commissioner. The note had come back from the Commissioner, in the margins of the letter back from the Commissioner, that this report should be provided to me. I had highlighted my issues to the highest level in the organisation. Ultimately, my role is an advisory role.”

Cullinane: “Everyone is passing the buck.”

Kelly: “I am not passing the…”

Cullinane: “I do not say Mr. Kelly is here. He deleted a vital paragraph based on assurances that action was being taken. Who gave him those assurances?”

Kelly: “The CAO primarily.”

Cullinane: “Who did he get them from?”

Kelly: “From Mr Culhane.”

Cullinane: “That is what I am trying to establish exactly. Mr Kelly’s view now is that those assurances were not worth the paper they were written on. Would that be a fair...”

Kelly: “That would be true. I would also say that it was a mistake on my part to delete that paragraph.”

Cullinane: “Mr Kelly is brave enough to accept that he made a mistake.”

Kelly: “Absolutely.”

Cullinane: “I commend him on that. Does he feel he was duped?”

Kelly: “I do.”

Cullinane: “Does he regret that he was duped in that way?”

Kelly: “Yes.”

Cullinane: “Who does he believe duped him? Perhaps he should name offices rather than individuals.”

Kelly: “I think that is an unfair question to ask. It could be a range of people.”

Vice Chairman Alan Kelly: “In the interest of fairness, does Mr Kelly feel it was multiple people or one person?”

Kelly: “Reference was made to culture. There was a different culture at that stage. There was a culture of circling the wagons and I got caught trying to bang into the wagons.”

Cullinane: “Does Mr. Kelly agree that the culture of An Garda Síochána up to 2015 was to circle the wagons rather than to accept there was wrongdoing and correct it? Would that be his view as head of internal audit?”

 Kelly: Speaking now, having gone through the past five years and writing this report, that is the only conclusion I can come to.”

Tomorrow’s PAC meeting, in committee room 3, will take place over two sessions, at 9am and 5pm.

Those who wish can watch it live here

Previously: Out In The Cold

‘I Was Counselled To Be Very Careful’

Poet and satirist Kevin Higgins

A response to both Frankie Gaffney’s feelings about identity politics and the ‘disappointed’  reaction from ‘women activists’ about those feelings….

Death Chant of The Handmaidens: For Choir of 350 Identical Voices

We the underwritten do with great solemnity promise
on our watch Union Carbide, Johnson & Johnson,
Lockheed Martin, and the late Herrs Bosch and Braun
will all have penis and balls cleanly dismantled,
made safe, and exported to fortify the wall
keeping terrorists from Judea and Samaria out;

each have a working vagina installed
under a Chanterelle beige
plutonium-powered pants suit fit
to play rhapsodies in
for the safe delivery of the shells
Golda guided onto the outskirts
of Damascus, for Indira’s ‘Smiling Buddha’
one thousand four hundred kilogram bomb,
for Imelda’s closet of shoes too fabulous
for the likes of you, on a grand piano
your grandmother swiped
from departed refugees,

seconds after one’s typed
in the codes to end man,
plant, and womankind;

bequeathed the planet to the gender neutral,
and hence far more successful, bacilli
Deinococcus Radiodurans who unlike us
will waste not one moment working out
on their calculators
which Facebook comments
it would be a smart career move
to like.

Kevin Higgins

FIGHT!

Identity politics is utterly ineffective at anything other than dividing people ( Frankie Gaffney, Irish Times)

Cop On Comrades (FeministIre)

Meanwhile…

Ah here.

sweartrek

Pic via Liberties Press

Enda O’Doherty will carry a Beko washing machine to the summit of Africa’s highest peak, Mount Kilimanjaro in aid of Pieta House in July.

Waterford man Enda O’Doherty will climb Kilimanjaro this summer in aid of suicide charity Pieta House carrying a Beko washing machine.

Gulp.

Enda writes:

In July 2017 I intend to carry my washing machine to the summit of Africa’s highest peak, Mount Kilimanjaro. My goal is simple, I aim to raise vital funds for Pieta House and to spread a positive mental health message. Most people ask, why a washing machine?

From my side, it’s very simple, the Washing Machine that I’m carrying symbolises the heavy hidden load that many people carry and stay quiet. We are aiming to raise awareness and also raise funds for Pieta House and every little helps.

In fairness.

Donate here

https://vimeo.com/219216194

Photos (colourised by mathematician and software pro Gerald Eichstädt) taken by the Juno Spacecraft during its last transit of Jupiter brought to life by Sean Doran.

Juno flies over the surface of the gaseous planet every 53 days, recording six megabytes of data for two hours which takes 36 hours days to download

colossal