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RTÉ News: Adrian Dunne 'driving force' at Monageer
RTE has reported that Adrian Dunne, the father who took his own life after killing his wife and two children during the weekend of 20-23 April 2007frequently misinformed service providers by furnishing misleading information.
He also tended to fabricate stories about family trips abroad and the deaths of an entire family in a car accident which the inquiry team found to be untrue. Ciara Dunne, Adrian's wife, was found to have colluded with him on occasions with such stories.Adrian Dunne's wife Ciara (24) died from strangulation and their two daughters, Leanne (5) and Shania (3), were smothered.The purpose of the inquiry, which was closed to the public, was to establish the circumstances surrounding the deaths, and the dealings of state services with the family and each other. It was chaired by barrister Kate Brosnan and its members included retired assistant Garda Commissioner Jim McHugh and Leonie Lunny, chief executive of the Citizens Information Board.
Its final report was to be completed and forwarded to Minister for Children and the Minister for Justice a year ago. However, delays occurred because of the large volume of people who were interviewed as part of the inquiry, and the complexity of their evidence. The current Minister for Children, Barry Andrews, received the report last October, although extracts of it have been circulated to relevant bodies and family members over recent months for legal reasons.
The inquiry found that Adrian Dunne was responsible but that theyThe time of death could not be established with certainty but the inquiry team believe the two children, and Ciara Dunne, probably died on the Saturday morning, 21 April, shortly before a 'suicide' text message was sent from Adrian's phone at 10.17am. They believe Adrian Dunne killed himself shortly after.did not discover any single definitive motive behind the deaths.
The inquiry also found that if gardaí or social services had called to the Dunne family home during the course of the weekend, it is likely the tragedy would not have been averted.
While the enquiry appears to absolve the various State Agencies from blame, the report does point to a number of serious deficiencies.
- Gardaí should have considered contacting Adrian Dunne's family to advise them of his visit to an undertaker on the Friday before the deaths.
- a fundamental problem has been the State's failure to provide 'out of hours' social work service to ensure a response to all serious child protection and welfare concerns.
The report makes a number of recommendations to the HSE and the gardaí.
Des Kavanagh, general secretary of the Psychiatric Nurses' Association is quoted by RTE as having said, before publication of the report, the provision of a mental health specialist 'who is supposed to be available 24 hours a day' was 'hugely important'.
'We believe it ought to be done on a guaranteed service basis, but unfortunately the particular resources available mean it is available only on a voluntary basis,' He said that the current situation is 'a bit chaotic' and 'unacceptable'.
Wexford mental health services have responded by putting in place mental health liaison nurses into the A&E services in Wexford General Hospital and a suicide-screening nurse who is available to work with GPs, and that is covering one half of the county and is intended to be extended to the full county.
It seems extraordinary that the purchase of coffins for the children by a man with a history of violent fantasy does not seem to have been taken as sufficient grounds for action to protect the children.
Not for the first time, the lack of weekend services seems to have contributed to unneccessary deaths.
RTÉ.ie Media Player: Adrian Dunne 'driving force' at Monageer
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