BB Baskin

𝐂𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐝 𝐋𝐞𝐟𝐭 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐀𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐠𝐞𝐝 𝐂𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐝 𝐒𝐞𝐱 𝐀𝐛𝐮𝐬𝐞𝐫 𝐀𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐓𝐮𝐬𝐥𝐚 𝐌𝐢𝐬𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐂𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐭 𝐛𝐲 𝐟𝐚𝐥𝐬𝐢𝐟𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐏𝐬𝐲𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐢𝐬𝐭’𝐬 𝐑𝐞𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭: 𝐆𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐚 𝐖𝐡𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐥𝐞𝐛𝐥𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫 𝐢𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐠𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐜𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐦𝐞𝐭 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐬𝐦𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐟𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐫𝐞𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐬 𝐛𝐲 𝐆𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐚 𝐌𝐚𝐧𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭: 𝐍𝐨 𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐉𝐢𝐦 𝐎’𝐂𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐠𝐡𝐚𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐍𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐚 𝐅𝐨𝐥𝐞𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐃𝐢𝐬𝐜𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐬 𝐌𝐚𝐝𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐦 𝐛𝐲 𝐓𝐃 In a powerful statement to the Dáil, Thursday 10 July, @AontuIE @Toibin1 raised grave concerns about the handling of a child protection case involving a seven-year-old boy, referred to as “Patrick.” The child disclosed physical and sexual abuse by his father in 2018. Despite a court-appointed psychologist affirming the credibility of these disclosures and alerting both Tusla and the Gardaí, Tusla allegedly misrepresented the psychologist’s opinion in a report to the court. The psychologist has since confirmed in writing that the version presented by the Tusla social worker to the court was false. Tusla reportedly omitted the psychologist’s findings from its official report, which ultimately resulted in the child being placed with his father whom he had accused of abuse. Patrick later presented to Temple Street Hospital with injuries to his testicles, and further disclosures were made in a Tusla interview—an interview that was secretly recorded by the family. That recording, Deputy Tóibín says, contains discrepancies when compared to what Tusla submitted to the court, including a fabricated claim that Patrick had retracted his allegations. Shockingly, this misreporting is said to have prevented a Garda investigation. A Garda whistleblower has since approached Tóibín’s office, stating that he and six colleagues are concerned about lies told to the court by Tusla staff and the child’s continued placement with the alleged abuser. The whistleblower reports that his attempts to escalate these concerns were met with personal smears and professional reprimands. Deputy Tóibín called for an immediate, independent investigation, stating that the situation is dangerously unsafe for the child. He further proposed the establishment of an independent expert panel to review contested child protection cases. Deputy Tóibín has already written to the former Minister for Children @rodericogorman the current Minister for Children @NormaFoleyTD1 and to the Minister for Justice @OCallaghanJim but got no response . In response, Minister of State @NiallCollinsTD acknowledged the seriousness of the allegations but stated he was not familiar with the specific case. He outlined Tusla’s statutory obligations and mechanisms for oversight and complaints but did not commit to an investigation. After further pressure from Deputy Tóibín, Collins agreed to follow up with Department of Justice officials and ensure the matter receives appropriate attention.