Overview

• Excavation continues on sealed open ground outside Donabate with Garda Technical Bureau specialists on site, as police warn media that unsolicited approaches to those linked to the case are harming the investigation.
• Garda Commissioner Justin Kelly says no sign of the child has been found so far and investigators believe he is deceased, with a senior investigating officer leading an incident room at Swords Garda Station.
• The boy, last seen around age three and a half and now believed to be about seven, was last known to have lived at The Gallery Apartments, which underwent a technical examination over the weekend.
• The case emerged after the Department of Social Protection flagged a child-benefit application to Tusla; the agency referred concerns to gardaí and says its prior engagement with the family ended in 2020.
• Political and oversight responses include the Taoiseach urging against premature blame, Sinn Féin’s Claire Kerrane calling for audits of closed cases, and the Children’s Rapporteur seeking a broader review of child-protection systems.