Gardaí didn’t consult social workers over Roma seizure

SOCIAL workers were not alerted to the removal of a Roma boy from his family last month because gardaí used an emergency helpline to arrange accommodation for him, a report has concluded.

HSE national director for children and family services, Gordon Jeyes, has given the findings of an investigation he conducted on the role played by social workers in the wrongful removal of two Roma children in Co. Westmeath.

The report concluded that a breakdown in communication between gardaí and the HSE was a contributing factor. Gardaí did not consult with local social workers before removing twoyear-old Iancu Muntean Jr from his home in Athlone on the grounds that he did not resemble his parents.

Gardaí used an emergency HSE helpline to arrange accommodation for the boy. He was then passed to a foster family working for Five Rivers, a private company contracted by the HSE to provide emergency care, according to a report in The Sunday Times.

It was not until the next morning that the HSE became aware of his removal when it was asked to seek an emergency care order for him. Mr Jeyes’s team also examined the removal of a seven-year-old girl from her family in Tallaght, west Dublin. Gardaí used their powers under Section 12 of the 1991 Child Care Act due to concerns about her identity and their suspicions that she might have been kidnapped.

It is understood social workers in the Tallaght case did not question the Garda actions because they believed the issue was criminal in nature.

Pending the results of DNA tests to establish her identity, the HSE sought an emergency order in the District Court to hold the girl in custody.

According to the newspaper, the report also questioned why social workers in the Tallaght case did not question decisions taken by gardaí.