LAST UPDATE | 16 Oct

THE TEENAGE BOY WHO died at a Tusla facility in Dublin has been named locally as Vadym Davydenko.

Gardaí and emergency services were called to the scene of a stabbing incident at the emergency residential unit for unaccompanied children seeking international protection in the Donaghmede area of Dublin yesterday morning, in which the 17-year-old was killed and a number of other people were wounded.

He is believed to have been Ukrainian and had been staying in a 24-hour care facility alongside other young people who were separated from their families and seeking international protection.

The incident has raised questions for Tusla over the care it provides and resources it receives in its care of young people.

The Children’s Rights Alliance said it was “vitally important” that the next step is an independent review by the National Review Panel – a body under Tusla that conducts reviews into the deaths and serious incidents involving young people known to the agency.

Calling it an “exceptional and rare incident” to happen in a residential centre for children, Ward extended sympathies to Vadym’s family and friends.

Tanya Ward, chief executive of the Children’s Rights Alliance, said the panel would help to establish the “circumstances of the death and whether there was any possibility to prevent it from happening”.

“This is really devastating and distressing news,” Ward added.

“At the heart of this, is a 17-year old boy who was in Ireland on his own. We extend our deepest sympathies to his family and friends who will be forever impacted by this tragedy.”

Social Democrats spokesperson for children Aidan Farrelly has described the death of Vadym as “tragic” and said the children’s agency may need to be called before an Oireachtas committee once the details of exactly what happened come to light.

Farrelly, who is a qualified social care worker, told The Journal his thoughts were, “first and foremost” with the families affected by the incident, as well as the staff that were on site and those in the wider organisation. 

“This is a very, very sad day for everybody involved, a tragic day,” he said. 

While the details of what exactly took place in Donaghmede have not yet become clear, Farrelly said: “What appears to be the concern here is that this is a residential premises for people who have been potentially fleeing very traumatic situations.”

“I would expect to see now evidence as to how these young people were being worked with in a trauma-informed way. I think we need to understand much more about what has happened before we can comment on the specific issues.”

Sinn Féin children’s spokesperson Claire Kerranne said it was critical that the Garda investigation be allowed to be completed to inform a greater understanding of what took place at the facility.

“Once we know what actually happened, we will then know what needs to be asked of Tusla,” Kerrane said.

Tusla has recently appeared at Oireachtas committees on children and public accounts and Farralley said “there might be cause for that to happen again”, but it’s still too soon to tell. 

“Ultimately, once the initial investigations wrap up, I think there will be legitimate questions for Tusla to answer, to shed light on this from a perspective of a trauma informed practices,” he said. 

“I mean, I’m thinking about the other young people this morning, who are waking up in a different setting now than what they did yesterday.”

‘Shocking event’

Tánaiste Simon Harris described yesterday’s incident as a “shocking event”.

“My thoughts are with all of impacted by it, in particular the bereaved family and those injured,” Harris said.

He also acknowledged staff at the site and gardaí who intervened the “horrific, deeply saddening incident”.

“The loss of life is unconscionable. The focus must now be on the welfare and safety of the young people, the staff at the facility.”

Dublin Central Labour TD Marie Sherlock similarly shared her sympathies with the victims of the attack today.

“There will be a huge amount of trauma among staff and others involved, and we have to make sure all those supports are going to be there for them,” she said. 

More broadly, Farrelly said that Tusla needs more resources. 

“To be fair to the government, this year, they have provided extra funding to Tusla but also, this is all happening in a context where the Department of Children has instigated a review of 40 odd thousand cases that were closed during the Covid years as well. So the workload is just continuing to grow.”

He also stressed that the people working at the children’s agency are dedicated and caring professionals.

With reporting by Eoghan Dalton