The foster care system has faced some intense scrutiny over the last few years after some appalling stories were revealed by RTÉ and it’s being brought back to front page news again as RTÉ reveal another scandal in tonight’s report Failure to Foster Care.
The report highlights a case in the west of Ireland where children were left at risk for years despite sexual abuse allegations.
This time last year, the RTÉ Investigations Unit revealed the harrowing details of a young woman known as ‘Grace’ who has serious intellectual disabilities and how she was left in her foster home in Waterford for almost 20 years despite a succession of sexual abuse allegations.
Now the RTÉ team have uncovered another story with upsetting similarities to the Waterford case.
They say children were left in the care of a foster family for several years despite serious allegations of sexual abuse against one family member.
Independent Child Welfare Consultant, Kieran McGrath, told RTÉ:
“The foster care system is the bedrock of the care system. Most of the time it does a fantastic job. However it has the potential to go seriously wrong. There’s no substitute for good practice, you know this is not an area where you can say mediocrity is OK, and it isn’t.”
You can watch RTÉ Prime Time tonight, 9.35pm, RTÉ One and RTÉ News Now.
