If ever there was a mic-drop moment this week, it came on Thursday night when the Ombudsman for Children issued a scathing statement about the response to the case of the missing boy in north county Dublin.
Dr Niall Muldoon - not typically known for being exercised - lashed out at the Government and Tusla over their handling of the situation.
He described as "shocking" that a child who was known to the Child and Family Agency could have disappeared four years ago and is now presumed dead.
Dr Muldoon was also concerned that the case had been referred to the National Review Panel (NRP) which lacks statutory footing, despite repeated calls over several years to formalise its role.
The NRP reviews serious incidents or deaths of children known to Tusla services.
The following day, the Department of Children defended the move, describing the review "of critical importance", due to the NRP's independence from Tusla.
The Children’s Ombudsman’s intervention came on the third night of the search by gardaí in open land outside Donabate in North County Dublin.
The child at the centre of the investigation, who would now be seven years old, is understood to be deceased.
The issue first came to light when an official at the Department of Social Protection flagged concern over an irregularity around what is understood to have been a child benefit payment.
Tusla was alerted and it referred the matter to gardaí.
The Child and Family Agency had dealings with the boy's family between 2017 and 2020.
It 'ceased engagement’ with the family in 2020 and there were no child protection concerns at the time.
For the first period of the child’s life, he was placed with a foster family for 18 months, before he was returned to his biological family.
Family reunification is a core priority for Tusla when it is deemed safe and appropriate.
When Tusla contacted gardaí, it was within days of the new Garda Commissioner taking up his role.
The investigating team swiftly got to work, examining an apartment building in Donabate, the child’s last known address.
On Tuesday, the search moved to a site outside the village with dense undergrowth and shrubbery.
Comparisons to disappearance of Kyran Durnin
The case has drawn inevitable comparisons to the disappearance of Kyran Durnin who was reported missing from his home in Co Louth last year which involved a high-profile garda investigation which was escalated to a murder case.
A rapid internal review was conducted by Tusla relating to its engagement with Kyran who was last seen in June 2022, followed by a second review by the National Review Panel, neither of which have been published.
Kyran Durnin would be nine years old today.
Last week, Special Rapporteur on Child Protection Caoilfhionn Gallagher KC questioned at what point would the case of a missing child become a ‘watershed moment’ for Irish society.
She pointed to the horrific case of abuse suffered by Victoria Climbié in the UK twenty-five years ago, which resulted in a public inquiry, much of which ran parallel to the Police investigation at the time.
It resulted in sweeping reforms in UK child protection systems.
Ms Gallagher suggested that there should be similar efforts made by the Irish state to allow inquiries into missing children like Kyran Durnin to run parallel to Garda investigations.
On Wednesday, the second day of the search in Donabate, the Government was in Dublin for the launch of what was described as a ‘landmark’ human right strategy for disabled people.
That morning, the Taoiseach called on people not to jump to conclusions or apportion blame, as gardaí continued their investigations.
At midday, he joined his party colleague Minister for Children and Disability Norma Foley at the Mansion House for the strategy launch, who was, according to sources, extremely "exercised" over the missing child.
Having been briefed by Tusla the day before, the minister requested a rapid review into the case of the missing child in Donabate.
It would be sent to the National Review Panel, like the rapid review of Kyran Durnin's case.
Set up in 2010, the NRP was established to provide independent reviews of serious incidents and deaths involving children who engaged with child protection and welfare services prior to the establishment of Tusla.
Services would have been the responsibility of the HSE at the time.
Since then, the State's child protection system has been strengthened and the NRP has produced solid work. It is currently led by Dr Helen Buckley, who is a leading child protection expert.
Yet, on Thursday night, Dr Niall Muldoon said that in 2018, the Department of Children and Tusla had agreed that the NRP was not fit for purpose, with no statutory power or independent authority to publish reports.
Indeed, the first Children’s Ombudsman Emily Logan called for the body to be put on a statutory footing when it was established in 2010.
While the current Programme for Government includes a commitment to formalise the NRP, there has been little progress.
If established as proposed by the Ombudsman for Children’s Office - with the power to examine all child deaths, not just welfare cases - the scope will be significantly widened.
However, Dr Muldoon has said that this is necessary and has written to the Taoiseach requesting "an urgent update on the matter".
On Thursday, there was another significant intervention by the Irish Association of Social Workers (IASW).
It represents social workers in Ireland, the majority of whom work for Tusla which has been battling to recruit and retain staff for years.
The IASW called for a full statutory review of the Donabate case to ensure that all circumstances leading to the tragedy could be understood.
It said lessons needed to be learned so that no child "is left without the protection and care they deserve".
The IASW questioned what safety protections were put in place for the child in Donabate, once reunification with the family occurred.
Engagement between Tusla and the family ended five years ago in the midst of Covid-19 lockdowns at a time when many households struggled.
However, Chief Executive Officer Kate Duggan has said Covid-19 was not a factor in the case.
There were no further referrals or concerns regarding the missing boy in Donabate after 2020, mirroring Kyran Durnin’s case, where no concerns were raised after his engagement with Tusla ended in early 2022.
The Minister for Children is concerned about cases that were closed during the pandemic and has asked Tusla to conduct a well being check on those children.
Tusla has confirmed that around 38,000 cases fall into the category.
While most of the checks will be administrative - contacting doctors, schools and creches for example - any red flags will be escalated to social workers for deeper investigation.
That work will take weeks.
The Taoiseach said Ireland has a "strong and robust child protection system", but events this week has resulted in renewed scrutiny.
State agencies must be held to account, but wider society must also take responsibility in ensuring that children are visible and safe.
It should not take two boys in neighbouring counties to vanish for everyone to sit up and take notice.
