The most recent findings of the national longitudinal study on children confirm that the majority of children in Ireland are developing well without significant social, emotional or behavioural problems. In short, Ireland is a good place to be a child. Childhood should be a positive, happy and carefree time and it is important, as adults, that we do all we can to protect the qualities of childhood, including immaturity, innocence and being trusting and fun loving. It is also important that in our efforts to protect children we do not stifle or deny any of the positive benefits that normal interactions with children bring. In legislating for the protection of children we must seek to find the correct balance between safeguarding children and protecting all that is good about childhood.
I welcome the opportunity to comment on the heads of the Children First Bill. It is important to acknowledge the approach the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs and staff of her Department have taken to the development of the heads of the Bill. It is one which has been characterised by a very open engagement in terms of exploring the genuine complexities of this legislation.
As the joint committee is aware, the Office of the Ombudsman for Children is an independent, national human rights institution with statutory responsibility for promoting and monitoring the rights of children living in Ireland. In this regard, I function independently of government and report directly to the Oireachtas. My role and functions are set out in primary legislation, the Ombudsman for Children Act 2002. Section 7 of the Act provides that the Ombudsman for Children may give advice to Ministers of the Government on any matter relating to the rights and welfare of children, including the probable effect on children of proposals for legislation. In accordance with this statutory function, I have set out a number of observations and recommendations on the proposals put forward by the Government for the Children First scheme and Criminal Justice (Withholding of Information on Offences Against Children and Vulnerable Persons) Bill 2012 which I bring before the Oireachtas today. It is in the context of these advices that I will make my comments.
My office is in a position to come before the joint committee with a significant level of expertise and body of evidence which I hope will be useful to the committee. Ms Deirdre O'Shea who accompanies me today is a senior investigator at my office, qualified social worker and former principal psychotherapist at St. Clare's child abuse unit, one of the national child-abuse centres, and brings significant expertise to this area. In 2008, my office undertook the only independent, national systemic investigation into State compliance with the Children First guidelines, for which Ms O'Shea was the lead investigator. This was an own-volition investigation and both the Health Service Executive and then Office of Minister for Children and Youth Affairs were its subjects. Following the investigation, I made 11 findings of unsound administration against the Health Service Executive and then Office of the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs. In accordance with the Ombudsman for Children Act 2002, I made 22 recommendations to improve the system. We include a review system or mechanism of review when we carry out an investigation. In this case, we have subsequently undertaken a review and I am pleased to note that many improvements have been made since the commencement of the office's investigation. However, while there have been significant changes in the area of child protection, there remain areas that continue to require attention.
A number of points which I raise in my advice on the Children First scheme relate to our Children First investigation and include the following recommendations. All necessary resources need to be put in place to ensure social work departments can respond effectively to any increase in reporting consequent on the Children First scheme and Criminal Justice (Withholding of Information on Offences Against Children and Vulnerable Persons) Bill 2012. I expressed concern about the potential for unnecessary multiple reporting of the same child protection incident. I recommend that efforts be made to prevent such a scenario, to reduce the administrative burden and to avoid duplication of the reporting mechanisms provided for in the Children First and Criminal Justice (Withholding of Information on Offences Against Children and Vulnerable Persons) Bill 2012. An effective mechanism for monitoring should be established to monitor the effects of the legislation on child protection services. This could be done, for example, by the social services inspectorate of the Health Information and Quality Authority.
A number of other recommendations on this legislation that I wish to bring to the attention of the committee today include the following. In the course of the office's investigation it became clear that consistent definitions of abuse were not being employed across the country. I am concerned that the same definitions of abuse be used in the Children First guidance and relied on in the Bill. It should be clarified that professionals working with children under the age of consent who have engaged in non-abusive sexual relations should be able to use their discretion to decide whether, given the facts of the case and any risk factors present, a referral to the statutory authorities should be made. Any discrepancies between the Children First scheme and the scheme of the forthcoming National Vetting Bureau Bill need to be addressed in the latter Bill. While I understand considerable discussion has occurred in respect of the sanctions set out in the Bill, we should seek to introduce non-criminal sanctions for failure to comply with Children First and criminal sanctions currently in the scheme should be removed. There also should be consistency between the Children First scheme and Criminal Justice (Withholding of Information on Offences Against Children and Vulnerable Persons) Bill 2012. . While I am conscious that the two relevant Departments are making considerable efforts in this regard, it is important to have consistency across Departments in respect of legislation affecting children.
The Irish State has an obligation under Article 3 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, to which it is a signatory, to ensure that in all actions concerning children, whether undertaken by public or private institutions, courts of law, administrative authorities or legislative bodies, the best interests of the child shall be a primary consideration. This principle is undisputed. There is no disagreement regarding the fact that children's best interests must be at the heart of our child protection and welfare services. This provision of the UN convention articulates a basic principle and is a minimum standard of sound administration in the design and provision of child care and child protection services. Standards governing the provision of those services must be set; services must comply with those standards; and the State must provide for adequate supervision and monitoring.
We all share a collective responsibility for child protection, but I am aware that legislators have an additional duty to act in the public interest and ensure that confidence is inspired in our child protection services. I strongly recommend that this committee should proactively monitor the legislation underpinning Children First, and I have recommended that this should include a requirement on the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs to review the effects of that legislation on child protection practice no later than three years after its commencement. This review should then be considered by the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Health and Children.
I remain, as always, at the disposal of the committee should members have any questions on our work. I would recommend three key documents. The first is our Children First investigation, the second is a summary document of the most recent review of those concerns, and the third is today's publication of the Bill on Criminal Justice (Withholding of Information on Offences Against Children and Vulnerable Persons) Bill 2012.