Twenty-six children died in 2014 who were in the care of the State or were known to care services, the highest number in five years, new figures show.

The annual report of the National Review Panel (NRP) details cases of deaths in care, after-care and those known to child protection services. The figures reveal that two young people died as a result of murder, while eight of the 26 died as a result of suicide and one from a drug overdose. Six deaths were infants under one year, and 10 were of children aged between 10 years and 16.  Five children died as a result of road traffic accidents.

In the case of the young man who died as a result of drugs, the NRP found that his needs “were not met through contact with the HSE childcare services”. In this specific case, the NRP found that the focus of services was more on the “mother’s incapacities” as an alcoholic and victim of domestic abuse than on the youngster.

The NRP listed a number of what it referred to as “learning points” arising from the cases, among them “the manner in which assessments were conducted. There were very few examples of good quality assessment in the records examined” and the “difficulty in engaging with families and young people”. The review also found that “quality of service was affected by inter-agency issues”.

The NRP made a number of recommendations arising from its review, reporting that “the majority of recommendations concerned oversight and management of intake and case planning” with respect to vulnerable children.