Excavators are being used to dig in a field in Donabate, north Dublin.

The child, who would be seven years old if still alive, has not been seen in several years.

Gardai began a search of open ground in Donabate on Tuesday which has continued over the weekend.

A search of open ground began in Donabate this week after concerns for the boy were raised by Tusla on Friday.

In a statement on Thursday, Ombudsman Dr Niall Muldoon criticised the response of the Government and Tusla.

Tusla CEO Kate Duggan described the case of the missing boy in Donabate as ‘really awful and harrowing’.

Bernard Gloster, who was in charge of Tusla when the boy went missing, said child protection cases are ‘exceptionally complex’.

Gardaí are searching for a boy who was last seen years ago and is now feared dead.

Gardaí said they are investigating the disappearance and whereabouts of the boy, who would be seven years old if still alive.

A search for a missing boy in Dublin who has not been seen for several years has so far been unsuccessful.

She acknowledged that the disappearance of a child would not have been apparent during Covid lockdowns.

The chief executive of the Children’s Rights Alliance, Tanya Ward, has questioned if the Covid pandemic allowed the child missing in north county Dublin to “slip through the net”.

Noah Laird was only seven years old and gathering with other scouts to go on a trip when the accident happened at the estuary at Donabate in Co Dublin

Gardaí are investigating after a refrigerated lorry container and its contents were stolen in north Co Dublin

The incident took place on the northbound section of the M1 motorway

Residents in Donabate, Fingal, have heard plans for a housing development of 1,020 residential units and a 32-acre nature park