THE FAMILY OF a 14-year-old girl who died while on a Scouting Ireland outing at Hook Head in 2015 has backed calls for the establishment of a legal review system into the deaths of  children in Ireland.

Anne Winterlich, the mother of Aoife Winterlich, who died after being swept out to sea during the trip in December 2015, said there needs to be a mechanism that is “clear and accessible” for parents and families to be supported through the tragedy of losing a child. 

The Ombudsman for Children’s Office (OCO) today called for the establishment of a child death review system in Ireland.

According to the Ombudsman, its office received a complaint from Aoife’s mother in 2018 “as no one would answer her questions about what had happened on the day her daughter died”.

Aoife’s mother learned that there was no mechanism she could access and brought the case to the organisation’s attention, according to a report from the Ombudsman published today, based on Anne Winterlich’s testimony.

The OCO said that any new review system must be “independent, transparent, and put families at its heart” to help answer the hard questions, and avoid future tragedies.

Scouting Ireland contested accountability for Aoife’s death for over eight years, until the organisation accepted liability in April last year during court proceedings brought forward by Aoife’s family.

Anne Winterlich speaking in a video on the OCO website. Ombudsman for Children's Office Ombudsman for Children's Office

Seeking answers

In a statement, the OCO stated that it is “unacceptable that there is no clear pathway” for Irish parents to seek answers when their child dies unexpectedly.

Between 2019 and 2023, 1,490 children and young people died, yet according to the OCO, there is “no central system to track these deaths or learn from them”.

The OCO said that it has received many complaints about children who died in tragic, sometimes preventable, circumstances – including suicide, homicide, drug overdoses, accidents, and sudden deaths.

“Some of these children were in State care or known to services, yet in too many cases, we still don’t know how or why they died,” the organisation said.

“Others weren’t known to services, but a duty of care still existed – and families deserve answers.”

The State has committed to establishing a national child death review mechanism on a statutory basis, according to the latest Programme for Government.

Several mechanisms have been previously established to conduct reviews of child deaths and serious incidents for children known to health and social services.

The OCO, however, continues to receive complaints from families that the current mechanisms are ad hoc, have no legislative or statutory basis, and have no compellability or enforcement powers.

“Families have also told us that there are no consistent timelines for reviews,” it adds.

“We urge that this child death review system is progressed without delay and that a lead Department be assigned to deliver it”.