Horrific case of child neglect left teacher and social worker physically sick

Harrowing details of the neglect of two young children were revealed in court last week.

The parents, who cannot be named to protect the children's identities, each pleaded guilty at Castlebar Circuit Criminal Court to two counts of willful neglect.

The children were aged five to six years and three to four years when the offending occurred between September 1, 2020, and September 9, 2021.

The court heard the eldest child often attended school in filthy or urine-stained clothes. The little girl complained to teachers of being hungry and would come to school without any socks or jumper, or ill-fitting clothes and shoes.

Her school bag was often dirty and on one occasion flies came out of her schoolbag due to the presence of old food. A staff member was physically sick when they saw the condition of the bag. The child told a teacher that there were flies and spiders in her room and they would bite her. Teachers would feed the girl and give her fresh clothes from their homes.

Her younger brother attended creche in an unwashed state and his clothes were dirty.

The children would often soil themselves. The little boy later told Gardaí that he was locked in a dog cage, but this was denied by the child’s father. The children also said they were spanked.

The eldest child’s school referred the matter to Tusla and Gardaí were contacted. When a social worker visited the family home there was dog excrement on the walls and a smell of rubbish. There were flies everywhere, the kitchen, toilet and children’s bedrooms were filthy and there was no proper bedding. 

A social worker vomited upon exiting the house and said they would never forget the smell. The social worker said protective clothing should probably have been worn for the visit. The court was told the house was a ‘health hazard’. 

When approached by teachers and social workers, the mother was aggressive and dismissive. The couple, aged 40 and 37, were arrested in August 2022. The father made no comment while his partner made a mostly no comment interview and denied neglecting her children. Full care orders were made in respect of both children. Their parents now have supervised access on a bi-weekly basis.

The man has no previous convictions while his partner has two previous convictions for road traffic matters.

The woman has significant mental health issues and experienced childhood trauma. Her husband worked long and unsociable hours and essentially became a carer for his wife. He also suffered from depression.

Senior counsel Dara Foynes, representing the mother, said the parents were “unable to care for themselves let alone two children". She said the couple struggled with financial and parenting matters and struggled to buy clothes for their children. Her client would sometimes walk her daughter the two miles to school as they could not afford diesel.

“The whole thing was just an absolute catastrophe,” counsel said.

The investigating Garda said both children are doing well “but still have a long way to go". 

Judge Eoin Garavan said it was a “heartbreaking case" and described the teachers as the "heroes", but he sharply criticised Tusla, noting that the family had come into Tusla’s orbit in 2017 but a change of address and Covid saw them neglected by the agency.

“Quite frankly, Tusla failed to continue its proper supervision of these children,” he said.

The judge said a supervisory visit “through a kitchen window” during the pandemic was not adequate while noting the constraints that were in place at the time. He welcomed Tusla’s decision to fund proper psychological treatment for the mother having previously tasked a psychoanalyst which had little impact.

Judge Garavan said the couple “willfully failed to treat their children with the love, respect and care they needed". He said animals in the house were allowed free rein and were looked after better than the kids.

The judge said the children’s father had greater culpability given his wife’s mental health issues, which left her with an “utter inability and capacity to parent”.

“She needs a lot of therapy," the judge said.

Judge Garavan sentenced the father to two and a half years in prison, suspending the final year and deferring the start of the term until March 30 given his wife’s vulnerabilities. The woman received a two-year suspended jail term.

• Published in conjunction with the Courts Reporting Scheme.