Last week it is believed that the Department of Social Welfare alerted Tusla, the child and family agency, to a discrepancy in its files.
A spot check on child benefit recipients revealed that a child in Donabate in north Dublin appeared to be missing. When the case was referred to the Garda it was discovered that the little boy had not been seen in four years when he was three years of age. The media was alerted on Monday.
A search commenced in an area of waste ground in north Dublin for his remains.
Tusla, in response to questions put to it on Tuesday by The Irish Times, revealed that the boy had been in its care for some time since his birth but had been returned to the family not long before he apparently went missing.
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Social affairs correspondent Kitty Holland explains to In the News the questions Tusla still has to answer.
Similarities have been drawn between this case and that of Louth boy Kyran Durnan. A year ago it emerged that he was missing, but also that he hadn’t been seen since 2022 when he was six. Gardaí commenced a murder inquiry which is ongoing.
Conor Lally, crime and security editor, explains why this case is different; why so little official information has emerged about this missing child, and what he expects will happen next in this very troubling case.
Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by Declan Conlon.
