I’ve been following the coverage of the Tracey Fay case with interest, wondering when someone will call for a social worker to be held accountable. If 23 children in 10 years had died while in the care of the Church the uproar would be so loud and so intense it would be heard in Antarctica.

Reacting again yesterday to the publication by Alan Shatter of the Tracey Fay report, and commenting on the possibility of resignations, Children’s Minister, Barry Andrews had the following to say:
 
“None of the recommendations that we saw last week had anything to do with taking people to account, so we have to assume that the failures are system failures and not individual examples of neglect. But if a recommendation comes out saying such and such an individual is clearly in dereliction of duty and shouldn’t be doing what they are doing, then that’s a recommendation we act on.”
 
Would the Church get away with pleading “system failures”? I doubt it. Heads would have to roll. Again, I am forced to ask, why the double standard?
 
Let us remember that the Tracey Fay report was conducted by the HSE. Of course no-one was held accountable. Maybe the Church should have conducted the Murphy and Ryan inquiries?