DEATH TURNS SPOTLIGHT ON FAILURE OF AUTHORITIES

THE death of young Kim O'Donovan following a drug overdose in Dublin
has again spotlighted the failure of a whole range of authorities.

The fifteen year old girl has had problems for a number of years. She
was committed to the care of the Eastern Health Board in 1997 and was
in residential care until she absconded at the end of last month.

The High Court ordered that she should be arrested and returned to the
support unit.

She wrote a long letter to the judge, Mr Justice Peter Kelly, saying
that she did not wish to return, and she added that a reporter was
paying for her to stay in a bed and breakfast. This case has again
exposed shortcomings in the care system for children with problems, and
it has also sparked questions about the role of the gardai.

The Labour Party has demanded an explanation of what efforts were made
to trace Kim O'Donovan.

Of course it is unfair to expect the gardai to assume the role of
social workers, but it is time that the whole range of authorities face
the reality that, despite the occasional arrests of drug smugglers, our
drug laws are largely ineffective. The level of heroin addiction
continues to rise.

In this instance there have been suggestions that the girl had been
lured into prostitution.

Unfortunately many young addicts, both male and female, frequently
resort to prostitution to feed their habits.

This has all the attendant dangers of HIV and AIDS, which have been
spreading quietly in this country.

That is the reality of the drug scene in which young people are
ensnared and virtually enslaved, frequently with fatal results. Their
deaths are just as sinister as if they were murdered in cold blood.
This is not just a drug problem, it is also a childcare problem.

Earlier this week we noted the failure of the authorities to deal with
instances of child abuse that were highlighted in 1946 by Monsignor
Edward J. Flanagan, the famous Roscommon born founder of Boys Town for
homeless boys in Nebraska.

There is a sense of near disbelief about the callous indifference of
our authorities back then, but the indifference today, in a time of
plenty, is just as callous.

In a report this week, Dr Catherine O'Doherty of the National
University of Ireland noted that there are 8,500 people who have
sought medical treatment for addiction to heroin in this country.

There are another 5,000 people taking heroin or methadone, who have not
sought assistance. Those statistics paint an horrific picture.

The overwhelming majority, some 98 % of those addicts, are located in
or near Dublin, but it will only be a matter of time before this
spreads.

The face on the statistics this week is that of young Kim O'Donovan.

Whose son or daughter will be next and how long will it take for
society to insist on effective action?