Children’s Minister Norma Foley stated that qualified staff were present during a recreational outing, following reports from Tusla that a girl was allegedly sexually assaulted after she “absconded” from the trip.
A 26-year-old man told authorities “I have nothing to say” when he was formally charged this morning in connection with the alleged sexual assault of a young girl—the girl, who Tusla confirmed was in State care, is believed to have been attacked in Saggart, Co Dublin on Monday, reports The Mirror.
Minister Foley addressed the incident today after Tusla reported the girl had “absconded from staff” during a scheduled recreational outing with carers in the city centre. She noted that the child had been under the care of appropriate staff within a proper care setting on the trip.
She said, “We wish that would never happen for any child but it can happen and what I need to know now is how it happened, what the circumstances were and that’s the work of the National Review Panel,” reports The Mirror.
When asked about Tusla’s handling of the incident, Minister Foley responded: “I want to acknowledge Tusla have confirmed that the child was in a registered, appropriately staffed care environment.
“All children, we want them even when they are in State care to have as normal a life as possible, they go to school like other children and experience days out like other children do and that normality for children is so important,” reports The Mirror.
TheLiberal.ie won’t quit
Please support us with a small donation on PayPal!
She continued, “All of the information that Tusla has provided they have shown that the child was provided for, appropriate register, appropriate staff, the child had opportunities like every other child,” reports The Mirror.
Tusla issued a statement saying the child involved had “significant behavioural issues”. When asked whether this might be seen as victim blaming, Minister Foley responded, “What I want to say is to my mind at the centre of this is a child. All of us in society it is our instinct to protect, mind and safeguard a child and for different children that demand is different. But, we have to ensure that whatever is demanded to protect and safeguard a child that is included. The situation of today is very different to 12, 13 years ago. We are living in a very different kind of world now and we have to ensure that we have that resilience and those supports in place that are there to protect, mind and safeguard children of the environment we are in today,” reports The Mirror.
Earlier in the day, a 26-year-old male stated “I have nothing to say” when charged with sexually assaulting a young girl, according to courtroom testimony.
The girl, confirmed to be under State care by Tusla, was allegedly assaulted in Saggart, Co Dublin on Monday, October 20, reports The Mirror.
The man appeared before Blanchardstown District Court this morning, facing a charge of sexual assault related to an incident on Garter Lane, Saggart.
He has been charged under Section 2 of the Criminal Law (Rape) Act 1990, as amended by Section 37 of the Sex Offences Act 2001, for sexual assault of a female. Due to the nature of the offence, his identity remains protected, reports The Mirror.
Judge Brennan ordered that the accused remain in custody and be brought before Cloverhill District Court on Wednesday for a bail hearing and to receive directions from the Director of Public Prosecutions.
Tell us your thoughts in the Facebook post and share this with your friends.
