Sharon Keogan demands national report after mother's suicide
Sharon Keogan addressed the Seanad to demand an independent national report into the mental health and mortality outcomes of parents whose children are removed into state care. She spoke after the death by suicide of a mother, Grace, who had spent more than a year trying to be reunited with her infant son.
International evidence and concern: Keogan cited international research - including a study in the Canadian Journal of Psychiatry and findings from the UK and Wales - showing parents, particularly mothers, face significantly elevated risks of self-harm and suicide after a child is taken into care. She said these findings compel scrutiny of Irish practice and outcomes.
Data gap and call to action: Keogan asked whether TUSLA holds data on deaths, including suicides, among parents whose children are in care or subject to care proceedings and whether any independent research has been commissioned in Ireland. In light of Grace's death and the international evidence, she called on the Minister to commission an independent national report to establish the scale and causes of harm to parents after child removal.
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Thank you, Cathaoirleach, and I too want to welcome Noel, my intern, and his family, Nasa and Aga, this afternoon. Noel has been an intern in my office over the last six to eight months and he's been a valuable asset to my team and so I thank him for his contribution. So Cathaoirleach, I want to raise the issue that I believe warrants urgent attention from the House and from the Minister. Last week a young mother named Grace died by suicide after spending more than a year trying to be reunited with her infant son, who was removed into care shortly after his birth. Her death is a tragedy and I extend my sympathy to her family, however it also compels us to look more closely at a broader issue that receives remarkably little scrutiny. International research has found that parents, particularly mothers, whose children are taken into care face significant elevated risks of self-harm and suicide. A study published in the Canadian Journal of Psychiatry found that such mothers were almost three times more likely to attempt suicide and more than four times more likely to die by suicide. Similar findings have also been documented in the UK and Wales. This raises a very basic question. What do we know about this in Ireland? Does TUSLA have data on the deaths, including deaths by suicide, of parents whose children are in care or subject to care proceedings? If not, how can it meaningfully assess the impact of child removal on parental well-being and mortality? Has any independent research been commissioned in this jurisdiction to examine this issue? If the answer to these questions is no, then we must accept that Ireland currently has no reliable way of knowing how many parents may have died following the removal of their children, and that is not an acceptable position. In light of Grace's heartbreaking death and the clear international evidence, I'm calling on the Minister to commission an independent national report into the mental health and mortality outcomes of parents whose children are removed into state care. Thank you.
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