A REVIEW OF the Child and Family Agency’s involvement with Kyran Durnin, the little boy who was reported missing last August and later presumed dead, will not be published. 

The review was carried out by the National Review Panel, which is independent of Tusla. 

Though a number of recommendations have been made public, the Attorney General has determined that the review itself cannot be published as it could prejudice “any potential prosecutions” in the future. 

The review panal has found that while it identified policy and practice weaknesses on Tusla’s side, “it does not infer a direct or causal link between them and the outcome for Kyran”.

The panel has today recommended a number of initiatives be taken on foot of the review.

The recommendations include tracking the movement of school pupils between primary schools, including those who cross the border, guidance being issued to social workers, and the development of a framework for “quality assurance monitoring” and an “outcome measurement for family support provider agencies”.

A review of the Tusla and Garda cooperation protocol is also recommended.

Speaking at a press conference this afternoon, Minister for Children Norma Foley said that while she wished to publish the report in full, it is on the advice of the Attorney General that it is “not appropriate” to do so as it might prejudice future or potential prosecutions.

“The recent tragic cases are of the deepest concern to everybody both in Government and across society. All of us have been deeply saddened by recent events that have been highlighted and extend our sympathies to all those who knew and loved Kyran.”

She further said that she is fully committed to seeing all of the panel’s recommendations put to practice.

“It is incumbent on us all that we learn from these cases and I am determined that all the recommendations in the National Review Panel’s report will be implemented in full,” Foley further said.

The Minister said she continues to have confidence in Tusla. 

She noted that there is a “significant process of reform underway by Tusla which will come onstream in January 2026.

Minister Foley speaking today at Government Buildings. Jane Matthews Jane Matthews

Kyran was reported missing alongside his mother from a Co Louth home in the August of 2024. Though her whereabouts were later established he was never found, and gardaí subsequently opened a murder investigation. 

If he were still alive, he would be 9-years-old today.

No body has been found and though two people, a man and a woman, have been arrested and later released in connection with the boy’s disappearance, no one has been charged with his murder to date. 

Tusla had engagement with Kyran Durnin and his family during his life, but the agency has said that engagement ended in 2022, despite the fact that Durnin stopped attending school in the South after the summer of 2022. 

Tusla said that no referrals were made relating to the boy between 2022 and 2024. 

Reacting to the recommendations, Tusla ceo Kate Duggan said: “Firstly, my thoughts are with Kyran and with everyone affected by this deeply distressing case. The circumstances are tragic, and I want to offer my sincere sympathies to Kyran’s loved ones and his community.

“When something like this happens, it is distressing for everyone involved, and it is critical that we as an agency review our interactions with the child, family, and other services, and that we seek an independent evaluation of that engagement from the National Review Panel.”

She said her commitment as ceo is to “full transparency and meaningful reform” so that Tusla can ensure it is doing all it can to safeguard and protect children.

With reporting from Jane Matthews.