Delivering judgment in the District Court, Judge John Campbell described a case as one of the gravest instances of child abuse to come before the Court in recent times, criticising failures by the Child and Family Agency (Tusla) to identify and respond to the abuse suffered by a mother and her children.
The proceedings arose after one of the children, “M”, attempted suicide at school on 2 September 2024. The school notified Tusla and An Garda Síochána, and care proceedings were subsequently initiated in respect of M and her younger siblings, “J” and “O”. The children’s mother also obtained domestic violence orders against their father.
Evidence before the Court revealed that the children had lived in severe squalor and had been deprived of basic amenities, including food, heating, lighting, toilet paper and sanitary products. Gardaí who searched the family home described an overpowering stench, flies and thousands of euro in cash hidden in the parents’ bedroom. The investigating Garda stated that it was the worst home she had encountered in 17 years of service.
The Court also heard that M had regularly been discussed at school welfare meetings due to concerns about her presentation. However, the school principal said he had been unable to contact her mother during the four years M attended the school and had never met or spoken to her. The mother was subsequently assessed as being one of the most visibly traumatised people the assessor had encountered in 30 years of practice.
Judge Campbell found that the mother and children had been subjected to serious physical and emotional abuse and neglect by the father. The mother had effectively been held as a “virtual prisoner in her own home”, experiencing domestic violence, sexual abuse, financial abuse and coercive control to such an extent that she was unable to protect her children.
The Court strongly criticised Tusla’s child protection practices, stating that procedures should be revised so that teachers feel confident reporting concerns and that a child protection file should not be closed because a mother has “not engaged” without an attempt to meet her in person, away from the controlling influence of a partner. The Court indicated that a similar obligation should apply to schools.
Judge Campbell also warned against allowing cultural sensitivities to take precedence over child safeguarding and directed that the Department of Social Protection should ensure that Child Benefit is paid to the child’s mother as the default position. Any departure from that arrangement should follow a face-to-face meeting with the mother, conducted without her husband or partner, to establish that the decision reflects her free will.