I move: "That the Bill be now read a Second Time."
This is an important piece of social legislation which I am pleased to introduce to the House. It is the first of a series of Bills relating to children to which the Government are committed. Together they will provide a comprehensive, updated, and extended body of law to protect and promote the welfare and security of all our children.
For most children childhood is a happy and secure time. Most of them grow up in a warm, stable environment with caring parents who are committed to their children and to doing what is best for them. However, there is a relatively small, but nonetheless significant, number of children for whom this is not the case. Some are the victims of family misfortunes and troubles for which no one can be blamed. Some have parents who cannot cope with the pressures of child-rearing and the stresses of modern life. Others have parents who could not care less about them or, worse still, who neglect or ill-treat them.
Each year about 3,700 children are placed in the care of health boards to be looked after in foster care or residential care. Most are reunited with their families after a few months or weeks, but some, unfortunately, remain in care for years. According to the latest statistics, about 40 per cent of these children are placed in care because they are being looked after by one parent — unmarried mother, deserted wife, widow or widower — who is unable to cope. About 14 per cent of the remainder have been neglected; another 13 per cent are in care because of a short term family crisis, 9 per cent have been abused either physically, sexually or emotionally and a further 9 per cent are in care due to marital disharmony.
There are thousands of other children, not at risk in any way, whose parents require support and assistance in looking after them. In most cases the support needed extends only to the provision of, say, childminding facilities while parents are at work. In other cases, children and their parents require intensive social work support on a continuing basis. All of these children and their families will benefit from the provisions of this Bill.
A number of factors have given rise to the need for this Bill. The existing law in relation to children is based largely on legislation dating from 1908. The Children Act of that year was a most enlightened measure at the time, but there have been radical changes in society in the intervening period which have affected our approach towards children in need of care. For that reason it has become increasingly clear in recent years that there is a need for new legislation in this area. Many of the existing provisions have become outmoded and various gaps and inadequacies have come to light.
There is now a deeper understanding of the psychology and needs of children and greater acceptance that they have rights of their own. They are not insensitive beings, nor are they lesser members of the human race. In particular, it is now recognised that, where a child must be cared for apart from his family, the most desirable approach is to provide the care he requires in an alternative family rather than an institutional setting.
There is also a need to take account of other developments that have occurred since the existing provisions were enacted — for example the development of day care services and the phenomenon of solvent abuse.
In view of the extensive amending legislation that would be required to give effect to the necessary changes, I propose in this Bill to repeal all the existing legislation in relation to the care and protection of children and to enact new, consolidated legislation.
The preparation of the Bill has been assisted by the recommendations made by a number of official bodies which have examined the child care services and by suggestions made by groups and individuals working with and for children. The official bodies included the Committee on Reformatory and Industrial School Systems known as the Kennedy Report, the Task Force on Child Care Services, the Working Party on Child Care Facilities for Working Parents and the Review Committee on Adoption Services. I would like to take this opportunity to place on record my thanks to all those involved who gave so freely of their time and energy and who, in doing so, contributed in no small measure to the preparation of this Bill.
It was originally the Government's intention to bring forward a single, comprehensive Children Bill which would update and consolidate legislation in relation to children. It was intended that it would deal with all aspects of the law, including the care and protection of children, adoption and juvenile justice.
When we got down to working out the details we found that this approach was impracticable due to the enormous range of issues involved, the legal complexities to which they gave rise, and the need to confront various problems for which there are no easy answers. Rather than adhering to the ideal of a single Bill, which would have meant putting off any improvements in the law until the issues had been resolved, the Government decided to take each major aspect of children's legislation as work on it is completed. While a single Bill would have had certain advantages, I think this approach will help us to concentrate our minds on each of the main areas in turn rather than have to cope at the same time with the whole spectrum of child care issues.
This is the first of the Bills. My Department are already working on the scheme of a Bill to amend the Adoption Acts in the light of the report of the Review Committee on Adoption Services. I hope to introduce that Bill in the House before the end of this year. The Minister for Justice, for his part, has published the draft text of a Status of Children Bill which aims to eliminate, as far as possible, the differences which now exist between the way in which the law treats children born within marriage and those born outside marriage. The Government are also committed to reform of the juvenile justice system and this will be the subject of a further Bill.
Before going into the details of this Bill, I would like to describe to Deputies the considerations and underlying principles upon which the Bill is based. The first and most important principle upon which the Bill is based is that the best place for a child to grow up is in his family or, where this is not possible, in a substitute family. In keeping with this principle the Bill grants health boards greatly expanded powers to provide family support services so as to reduce to the greatest extent possible the need to take a child into care. Where children need to be taken into care the approach will be to provide them with the care they require in a family rather than an institutional setting.
I would like to emphasise, however, that there is still an important role for children's homes and their contribution will be crucial in the development of a comprehensive child care services as envisaged in this Bill. In the past they have provided an excellent service in a quiet and unobtrusive way. Indeed, it is true to say that until relatively recent times they got little thanks for looking after most of the unwanted and abused children of the nation. However, I believe that all who work in children's homes would now agree that in most cases it is better for a child to grow up in a family setting. Equally, social workers accept that not all children in need of care can be successfully fostered or, indeed, that foster care would be the most appropriate form of care for them.
Residential care will remain an important element in the range of provisions for children. Children's homes will continue to provide the best answer for some children needing care and will continue to perform a variety of valuable functions in the child care service. These functions include reception and assessment; emergency short-term care; and longterm care for children, especially older children, who cannot be or do not wish to be fostered. They are also in a better position, because of the training and expertise of their staffs, to look after children with special problems who require individual attention and expert help.
The second important principle underlying the Bill is the principle of minimum intervention in the lives of children and their families. While it is essential that there be effective legal procedures to enable the State to intervene on behalf of children where this is necessary, it is equally vital that the law should protect the child and the family from unwarrented interference. The Bill has been drafted on the basis that the State and its agencies are justified in intervening only where there are compelling reasons for doing so in the child's interests. Where intervention is deemed desirable there are various safeguards in the Bill to prevent arbitrary action and to ensure that the rights of parents and guardians are not ignored.
That the child himself has rights — I use the word "himself" in the parliamentary draftsman's terms; it includes male and female children — is something that has received little emphasis in the past. The third principle upon which the Bill is drafted is that children have natural rights and these rights may, in certain cases, differ from and conflict with the rights of their parents. These rights arise from the democratic nature of the State and include the right to life itself, the right to preserve and defend, and to have preserved and defended, that life, the right to live at a proper human standard and the right to be reared and educated. In cases of conflict between the rights of a child and those of his parents, the Bill seeks to ensure that the interests of the child will be treated as paramount.
I will now turn to the detailed provisions of the Bill. Part I contains short title, commencement, expenses, repeals and other standard provisions. Section 2 defines the terms used in the Bill. Pending the enactment of the proposed Status of Children Bill, this Bill has had to be drafted to conform with the existing law and terminology in regard to children born out of wedlock. The Bill will be amended later to bring it into line with the changes to be made in the law relating to the status of children.
Part II contains new arrangements for the regulation and supervision of certain child care services, namely, day care services, private foster care and children's homes. The increase in childminding and playgroup activities in recent years has been accompanied by growing demands for legislation to govern the standards and operation of these services.
Section 9 provides for the introduction of a system of statutory registration of day care services for children, namely day nurseries, creches, playgroups and pre-schools, to be administered by local health boards. My Department estimate that there are some 1,400-1,500 such services catering for up to 20,000 pre-school children.
Registration will be dependent on the maintenance of standards in relation to such matters as suitability of premises and facilities, quality of care, staff numbers and qualifications. The detailed standards will be laid down in regulations which I will make under the Bill. In anticipation of this legislation a working party of persons with a knowledge of the operation of day care facilities recently completed a report for my Department. This report contains recommended standards which will be of assistance to me in preparing these regulations.
I am particularly anxious to avoid increased costs for parents. I intend, therefore, to proceed on a phased basis. Initially, the regulations will prescribe the minimum requirements necessary to ensure the safety and wellbeing of children attending day care services. Standards will be raised gradually through a combination of advice and support from health boards and, only in exceptional cases, through the imposition of sanctions.
The existing law in relation to private foster care, or "children at nurse" is extremely detailed and is complicated by the fact that it is spread across the Children Acts of 1908, 1934 and 1957. Briefly, the law requires any person undertaking the care and maintenance of a legitimate child for reward or an illegitimate child, whether for reward or not, to notify the local health board. Health boards are obliged to supervise children in such care and have power to remove children who are not being looked after properly.
There has been a steady decline in the use of this form of care in recent years. In 1982, there were less than 150 children notified to health boards as being in private foster care. This decline is due to a number of factors, particularly the growing practice of single mothers rearing their children themselves and the greater availability of day care services.
Section 12 will enable me to update the legislative controls in this area in the light of changing needs. Responsibility for the supervision of children in private foster care will be a matter for health boards. I have also availed of this opportunity to eliminate the differences which now exist between the way private foster care controls affect legitimate and illegitimate children.
Regarding children's homes section 15 provides for new arrangements for the supervision and the registration of residential facilities for children. The new system will cover the 24 residential homes, formerly industrial schools, for which I assumed responsibility from the Minister for Education in January, 1984 and 17 homes approved under the Health Acts for the reception of children in need. The 41 homes together provide accommodation for about 1,100 children.
At present, the residential homes are subject to limited controls under rules made under the Children Act, 1908. The 17 approved homes are not subject to statutory regulation. The Bill will enable me to prescribe requirements as to the standard of accommodation and facilities, staff numbers and qualifications, quality of care etc. in all the homes. In addition, the homes will be subject to inspection by officers of health boards and by officers of the Department of Health.
Section 16 provides that, in future, a child may not be placed in a children's home unless the placement is made or approved by a health board. This is in line with my policy of promoting foster care as the first option in caring for children apart from their families and preventing unnecessary or inappropriate use of residential care facilities.
Part III sets out the procedures to be followed where children are receiving, or are at risk of receiving, inadequate care or protection.
Section 23 is one of the most important provisions of the Bill. It imposes a clear obligation on health boards to promote the welfare of children in their area. It will enable the boards to provide services or facilities to assist parents in the upbringing of their children and prevent children having to be placed in care. I am confident that even in difficult economic times the imaginative use of this section by health boards and their professional staffs will result in the development of new, community-based projects and initiatives which will be of benefit to children and families generally. Services which might be provided under this section could include home help and home maker services, child and family guidance, day fostering, remedial care, family resource centres and special projects for deprived or difficult children.
Day care services are an important source of support for families under pressure and for parents who have to go out to work. Official policy is to assist and encourage voluntary organisations to provide day care services, with support from health boards where necessary. There is not much point in having laws and policies protecting the right of a mother to work, if she so chooses, if we are not going to help her to do so by facilitating the creation of a system of safe, well-supervised centres to care for her children.
I mentioned earlier that it is estimated that about 20,000 children are attending pre-school centres of one sort or another. In most instances the service is being paid for by the parents of the children but, in some cases, because of the family home circumstances of the child, the health boards make a contribution. In fact, health boards are supporting some 230 voluntary day care services catering for over 6,000 children at a cost of over £1 million per year. While I intend to maintain the emphasis on assisting voluntary initiatives, in providing this much needed family support for the disadvantaged, section 24 will enable health boards themselves to provide day care services where there are no suitable voluntary organisations available to undertake this work.
Under the present law, a health board may receive children into voluntary care, i.e. without recourse to the courts, only where the children have been abandoned or where their parents are dead or are destitute. There are many other situations in which children may need to be placed in voluntary care such as while a mother is deciding whether to place her child for adoption, where parents are ill or unable to cope, in cases of marital breakdown or family crises. In practice, health boards provide care for any child who requires it and at present, about 85 per cent of children in care have been placed there on a voluntary basis.
Section 25 seeks to regularise the position by extending the powers of health boards to receive children into voluntary care.
Sections 26 to 32 provide new emergency procedures for the removal to safety of children who are in danger. Since the Garda are often the first to come across cases of neglect or cruelty, section 27 provides that, in an emergency, a garda would be empowered to remove, without warrant, a child in respect of whom any of the offences mentioned in the Second Schedule had been, or is about to be, committed or whose immediate safety required that he be removed. At present the Garda can act without warrant only where an offence has been committed. Any child so removed would be placed in the care of the health board.
A number of improvements are being made in the law in relation to place of safety orders. This is an order which authorises the removal of a child from a situation of neglect or danger and his placement in the care of a health board pending the bringing of care proceedings. The grounds upon which these orders may be issued are being extended and there are new provisions to ensure that orders can be obtained quickly in cases of emergency.
Section 33 updates and extends the grounds on which the courts may place a child in the care of, or under the supervision of, a health board. Some of the existing grounds are outmoded and others are no longer necessary, particularly in the light of the provisions to strengthen the powers of health boards to receive children into care on a voluntary basis. On the other hand, experience has shown that the existing legislation does not enable health boards to take action in certain cases where children are at risk.
For example, where a child has been away from his parents for some time, living with a relative or in the voluntary care of a health board there is no provision to enable a health board to seek an order to prohibit his return to his parents if they are unfit or incapable of looking after him.
Section 33 provides that a health board will be able to take care proceedings where a child has been ill-treated, neglected, assaulted or sexually abused; where he is under the care of a parent or guardian who does not exercise or is not capable of exercising proper guardianship; or where he is receiving inadequate care such as to cause injury to his health, or unreasonable suffering or to impair substantially his proper development.
A health board will also be able to take care proceedings where any of the offences mentioned in the Second Schedule have been committed in respect of a child or where a child is a member of the same household as a person who has been convicted of an offence mentioned in the Second Schedule.
Finally, in order to protect siblings, care proceedings may be taken where a court has found that any of these conditions is or was satisfied in the case of another child who is or was a member of the household to which the child belongs.
Where the District Court is satisfied that any of these conditions existed it could make a "care order" or a "supervision order" in respect of the child. Care orders replace the fit person orders provided for in the Children Act, 1908. A care order would remove the child from his parents and place him in the care of a health board. It would be a matter for the board to decide how the child should be looked after, for example, by placing him in foster care or in residential care. At present, the law allows the courts to commit deprived children directly into residential care. I regard this as undesirable. I consider that the health board and their professional staff are in a better position to assess the needs of the child and to decide what the most appropriate form of care should be for any child. As I have already emphasised, the intention is to care for most of these children in a family setting.
A supervision order would enable a health board to ensure that a child is receiving adequate care and protection without having to remove him from his family. This is an entirely new form of order. It extends the options available to health boards in seeking to protect children who have been neglected or who are at risk. It is also in line with the overall principle of not removing children from their families save in exceptional circumstances.
Part IV sets out the procedures to be followed and the arrangements which may be made by health boards in seeing to the care of children who have been placed in care, whether on a voluntary basis or by virtue of a court order. I should like to draw particular attention to section 42 which obliges health boards to have regard to the principle that it is generally in the best interests of a child to be brought up in his own family or where this is not possible to provide him with such care as is most appropriate to his needs. This section will also require a health board to have regard to the wishes of the child himself in providing for his care.
For most children, the best and most appropriate form of care apart from their families is to be found in foster care. Section 43 updates the law in relation to foster care. I have decided to discontinue use of the term "boarding-out", which has its origins in the Poor Law. At present, only children who are orphaned or deserted or whose parents are destitute may be placed in foster care by health boards. Since foster care is now the first option in caring for a child apart from his family, the new provision will enable a health board to place any child in their care in foster care.
The existing law requires a health board, before placing a child in foster care, to obtain the consent of his parents if they are available. There is no such requirement in relation to placement in residential care. The refusal of parents to give consent results in some children being deprived of family life and of the happiness and security which foster parents can provide. In 1982, the latest year for which figures are available, there were 70 children in residential care who could have been placed in foster care but for the refusal of the parents to give consent. I consider that this is an issue on which the rights of the child should take precedence over the rights of his parents. I propose, therefore, not to reenact the requirement as to parental consent. Under the amended provision, the health board will take the decision.
Section 45 imposes a duty on health boards to undertake regular reviews of children in care, whether in foster care or residential care. This is an important safeguard. It will help to ensure that a child's changing needs are identified and met and that the possibility of his being re-united with this parents is continually assessed. It will serve as a continuing reminder to all those responsible that, once placed in care, a child should not be forgotten.
Section 49 attempts to deal with a serious gap in the law in relation to children who have been neglected or ill-treated and who are placed in care on a voluntary basis by their parents. At present, a health board have no power to refuse to return such a child to his parents on request, even if there are grounds for believing that the child will be further neglected or ill-treated on his return home. Section 49 provides a procedure which would enable a health board to delay the removal of a child in such a situation pending the making of an application for a place of safety order. I would point out, however, that a parent or guardian will have the right of appeal to the courts against such a decision.
Part V provides for a new procedure which would enable persons who are bringing up a child apart from his parents, (for example, foster parents or relatives) to obtain a custody order which would grant them legal custody of the child. A custody order differs fundamentally from an adoption order in so far as it would not sever the child's relationship with his natural family and would not interfere with his Succession Act rights. Before a court could grant a custody order it would have to be satisfied that the natural parent consented to the making of the order or, where he did not consent, that the parent was not capable of providing proper care for the child.
It would be open to the parents or the person granted custody to apply to have the order varied or discharged if circumstances changed. The aim of these proposals is to protect the interests of the child by affording legal recognition to the relationship with his foster family and securing it against arbitrary or precipitous interference.
The need for this custody procedure arises from the fact that, at present, a child who is placed by his parents in foster care, or in the care of a relative, may be removed by them at any time, regardless of how long he has been in care or how attached he has become to his foster parents. Apart from seeking to have the child made a ward of court, which is a complex and expensive procedure, the only option open to foster parents who wish to retain custody of a child is to refuse to return the child and wait for the parents to take action for his recovery under the Guardianship of Infants Act. There is growing support for the contention that, in exceptional circumstances, it may be in the child's best interests not to be returned to his parents but to remain in the custody of the persons who have cared for him over an extended period.
I realise that this is a delicate area. But a step of this sort would be an exceptional measure. Perusal of the Bill will show that there are sufficient safeguards to ensure that the measure is not abused.
In this connection I might mention that the Review Committee on Adoption Services also identified the need for a procedure, short of adoption, by which persons who are bringing up a child apart from his parents could obtain a legal status in relation to him. The committee were especially concerned about the practice of in-family adoption, for example, adoption of a child by his grandparents, because of the distorting effect this has on the natural relationship between mother and child. It considered that the introduction of an arrangement less radical than adoption which would secure the child's relationship with, for example, his grandparents but would leave open the possibility of his natural parent resuming care of him would, in many cases, be more in the interests of the child.
The committee considered that such a procedure would also be useful in cases where adoption is impossible, for example, where the proposed adopter is not eligible to adopt, or where adoption might not be appropriate, for instance, in the case of older children who do not wish to be adopted and children who continue to have contact with their parents. The provisions of Part V are broadly in line with the committee's recommendations in this regard.
Part VI provides for various technical measures concerned with the conduct of court proceedings involving children, rules of evidence and so on.
Part VII updates sections of the Children Act, 1908 which provide for offences against children. It also contains new restrictions on the sale of solvents to children.
Section 82 increases the penalties for offences relating to the neglect or abuse of, or cruelty to children. On summary conviction, fines are being increased from £25 to £1,000 with prison sentences of up to 12 months. The present term is six months. On conviction on indictment, the maximum fine is being increased from £100 to £3,000 and/or imprisonment for up to three years, compared with two years at present.
Section 83 seeks to prevent solvent abuse, or "glue-sniffing" as it is generally known, by controlling the availability of solvents to children. The variety of household products which may be abused, such as hair lacquers, cigarette lighter fuels, products in aerosol containers, nail varnish removers and petrol renders legal control difficult. The main aim of this section is to provide for the taking of action against traders and others who sell products, including glue-sniffing kits, to children for "sniffing" purposes. Provision is made for fines of up to £1,000 or 12 months imprisonment for persons engaging in such activities. I also propose to take power to ban the sale of certain solvent-based products to children. This power is a measure of last resort and is likely to be used only to control the sale of very dangerous substances which in general would not include glues. In addition, the Garda will be given power to seize products which children are abusing.
I would be the first to accept that this is not a complete answer to this problem. However, I do not think it would be realistic to attempt to enforce more stringent legal controls. The provisions of this section will be complemented by greater efforts to educate children about the dangers involved in solvent abuse.
There are two schedules attached to the Bill. The First Schedule lists the enactments to be repealed. I am availing of this opportunity to repeal a number of obsolete provisions in relation to children.
The Second Schedule lists serious offences against children to which certain provisions of the Bill will apply. The commission of a scheduled offence against a child will provide grounds for the issue of a place of safety order under section 29, or for the taking of care proceedings under section 34. Provision is also made for the Garda to notify the health board whenever such offences are committed so that the board can take any necessary action to protect the child involved.
I hope that this Bill will have the goodwill and support of all sides of the House. If it is shown to be lacking or requiring amendment in any respect I shall be very happy to consider changes on Committee Stage. I have already invited the comments of the various statutory and voluntary agencies involved with children and, indeed, I would welcome reactions from anyone who feels he can contribute to the improvement of my proposals.
So far, the Bill in general has been welcomed. It has, however, been criticised because it does not give any indication of the additional resources to be made available for the improvement of the services. The Bill is, of course, concerned only with the updating and extension of the legislation concerned with the care and protection of children. I do not need to explain to the House that the question of the amount of resources to be committed to these services is not normally one for legislation. It is one for political, budgetary or administrative decision from time to time in the light of the resources available.
Many of the measures in this Bill could be implemented without cost but I accept that we need more facilities and personnel to back up some of the proposals.
I would remind the House that the national plan, Building on Reality, makes it clear that within the health services the aim will be to bring about a redistribution of resources away from institutionalised services towards community services, particularly those for disadvantaged groups. If we are successful in this aim — and I am making every effort to ensure that we shall be — then I would expect to see gradual but worthwhile developments in our family support services over the next few years. Furthermore, the area of the child and the family will be one of my first priorities in relation to any additional funds that may become available.
I might mention that I had a small sum this year for new community developments and I have just allocated £375,000 of it to the child care services. This will permit the health boards to give support to additional day care services; to increase payments to foster parents in some areas; to run some short term courses for personnel working with children and provide funds to help young persons who have been in long term care to make an easier transition to an independent life. As the opportunity arises I shall continue to complement the proposed legislative changes by further allocations of resources.
I commend the Bill to the House and I look forward to a comprehensive debate on its provisions. I assure Deputies that I am open to observations and suggestions as to how the Bill should be improved in any way. I look forward to a detailed Committee Stage and to having an opportunity to reply to the Second Stage debate in due course.
