Latest search developments as Gardai zone in on suspected burial site of missing boy & Tusla claim no Welfare Concerns

Detectives are probing whether the child was killed and secretly buried

UNDER-FIRE Tusla has claimed there were no child protection concerns in relation to its dealings with the family of a boy who is now missing and presumed dead.Detectives are probing whether the child was killed and secretly buried.

But officers are also investigating claims that the lad died in his sleep and was then buried in a panic.

Gardai continued the search of the suspected burial site of the youngster for a third day in the town of Donabate, north Co Dublin.

Members of the Garda Technical Bureau have zoned in on a specific area of open scrubland beside trees on the Portrane Road on the outskirts of Donabate, near where the child lived.

The youngster, who would be seven if still alive, was last seen in public four years ago when he was around three-and-a-half.

Detectives are probing whether the child was killed and secretly buried.

But officers are also investigating claims that the lad died in his sleep and was then buried in a panic.

Gardai continued the search of the suspected burial site of the youngster for a third day in the town of Donabate, north Co Dublin.

Members of the Garda Technical Bureau have zoned in on a specific area of open scrubland beside trees on the Portrane Road on the outskirts of Donabate, near where the child lived.

Our pictures also show officers expanding the probe to another section of field beside the main search area.

Fresh fencing was erected today in an area adjacent to the original search site. With the excavation process set to enter its fourth day tomorrow, Tusla chiefs hit back at mounting criticism over the tragedy.

The child and family agency is facing a growing torrent of questions after the bombshell revelation that the boy was in State care before he vanished.

Local Labour TD Duncan Smith today declared Tusla has “serious questions to answer” over the case, warning it could “shake the very foundation” and future of the agency.

But Tusla’s Chief Executive Kate Duggan today defended the agency’s handling of the case.

Ms Duggan confirmed that Tusla provided the family of the boy with care and support from 2017 to 2020.