The neglect of the State was a “major contributing factor” to the death of troubled teenager Daniel McAnaspie, his funeral service heard this morning.
Outspoken homelessness campaigner Fr Peter McVerry said the failure of a “dysfunctional and under-resourced child care system” resulted in the 17-year-old’s early death.
Mr McAnaspie was buried in Glasnevin Cemetery today after 11.15am Mass at the Church of the Annunciation, Finglas.
His body was found in a drain in Co Meath on May 13th. He had been stabbed six times. He disappeared from a party at Blanchardstown on February 26th and nobody but his killer or killers saw him again.
Mr McAnaspie had been in and out of State care from the age of 10 when his father Leo died. His mother Martina died three years ago. The couple had six children.
Fr McVerry told the funeral congregation at Our Lady of the Annunciation church in west Finglas that his death has created a momentum for the reform of child care services in Ireland.
He said the State needed not 200 extra social workers, but 1,200 just to bring the system up to the level that exists in Northern Ireland.
He acknowledged such a child care system would be expensive, “but if the failed banks can be given a blank cheque, then a failed child care system is no less important”.
The chief mourners were Mr McAnaspie’s surviving siblings Cathriona, Nikita, Keith and Dean. His brother Edward, who is serving a six year sentence for the possession of a gun, was not allowed out of prison for the funeral.
Around 400 mourners attended the funeral, many wearing a yellow ribbon in solidarity with the teenager’s life and death.
After the funeral mass, his body was taken by a horse-drawn carriage to Glasnevin Cemetery for burial.
The 17-year-old from Finglas had been in the care of the Health Service Executive since 2003 but failed to return to his accommodation on February 26th.
