The fifth day of a search for a missing boy, who is presumed dead, at a green area between the villages of Donabate and Portrane in north county Dublin has concluded.
Searches for the boy, who would now be aged seven, resumed at around 7am this morning and continued throughout the day.
Around 30 gardaí were seen combing the cordoned off area inside the field with strimmers and scythes to clear the heavy undergrowth.
That grass was then scooped up and dumped outside of the field.
A cadaver dog, which is used to pick up and track the scent of human remains, has also been seen at the site on different occasions over the last few days was at the site again today.
Since yesterday, the search for this boy on the piece of land has intensified and will resume tomorrow.
Members of the Garda Technical Bureau were seen leaving the search area holding evidence bags yesterday evening.
The location was identified from information received in the investigation into the disappearance of the child.
Gardaí have carried out searches and a technical examination at an apartment in the Gallery Apartments in Donabate, the place where the boy is last known to have lived.
Detectives have so far been unable to either locate the child, identify any information on his current whereabouts or find any evidence that he is currently alive.
They suspect he may have come to some harm but do not know if that was accidental, intentional, violent or criminal.
They say they are keeping an open mind, including to the possibility that the child died of natural causes, and say they are handling this case sensitively.
Yesterday, the Department of Children defended referring the case to the National Review Panel (NRP).
The Department said the review was of "critical importance", due to the NRP's independence from Tusla.
The Ombudsman for Children said the NRP was a structure with no statutory power or no independent authority to publish reports.
In response, the department said the NRP provided "a valuable service to the State", that its purpose is to conduct reviews of child deaths and serious incidents culminating in reports that are "factually accurate" and identify "learnings" to improve quality of services provided to children.
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