Alcohol Action Ireland, the national independent advocate for reducing alcohol harm, today (Monday, 18th January) noted the publication of the Child Care Law Reporting Project latest report, which documents 48 recent cases of child neglect. The Child Care Law Reporting Project examines and reports on judicial child care proceedings.
This research demonstrates the scale of the challenges many children face during the course of the ongoing pandemic crisis. Parental problem alcohol use continues to feature as a source of trauma for many children.
Alcohol Action, and its initiative ‘Silent Voices’, continues to highlight the blight to an estimated 200,000 children, who every day live with the chaos and trauma of alcohol harm in their homes. This reality has been deeply exacerbated by the increased record volumes of alcohol flowing from a buoyant, and unrestricted, off trade market.
Commenting on the latest reporting from the Child Care Law Reporting Project, Dr Geoffrey Shannon, Patron of Alcohol Action Ireland said:
What these reports further demonstrate is how corrosive alcohol is, and what we see is that the biggest challenge facing society is the adverse consequences for the welfare of many children posed by alcohol. Alcohol abuse, is a key feature in many of these tragic cases, and has a very damaging effect on children, and the failure by society to address alcohol as a fundamental problem, places an insurmountable burden on the child protection system.
Dr Sheila Gilheany, CEO, Alcohol Action Ireland, said:
The tragic cases highlighted in this powerful research highlights yet again the need for concrete action by Government to establish meaningful measures to support the lives of these children. In recent weeks, we have been working with a number of key stakeholders to establish an ‘Operation Encompass’ across Ireland’s primary schools, which helps educators identify traumatised children and establish timely and meaningful supports for these children who are largely voiceless in this situation.
Editor’s Note
Alcohol Action Ireland provide an online portal ‘Silent Voices’ for Children, and Adult Children, who are living with the impact of parental alcohol misuse with information on support, counselling and recovery, as well as a platform to amplify the voices of those who have been silent for long:
