Matt Brennan
Question:28 Mr. M. Brennan asked the Minister for Health whether all health care workers involved in child care are fully implementing the recommendations of the Kilkenny report. [4577/95]
Written Answers. - Child Care Services.
Limerick East): The central recommendation of the report of the Kilkenny incest investigation was that the necessary resources be made available to facilitiate the implementation of all sections of the Child Care Act, 1991 and in particular those provisions which relate to the care and protection of children who are being abused or neglected.
The policy agreement between the Government parties, A Government of Renewal, contains a commitment to the rapid implementation of the Child Care Act. The Government's determination to honour this commitment is reflected in the fact that the Health Estimate for 1995 includes provision for additional funding of £10 million for child care services.This will facilitate the commencement before the end of the year of Parts III, IV, V and VI which deal with the protection of children in emergencies, care proceedings and the powers and duties of health board in relation to children in their care. These provisions will greatly strengthen the powers of the courts, the health boards and the Garda to intervene effectively in relation to child abuse and neglect. The need for the early implementation of these key provisions was underlined in the Kilkenny incest report.
The Kilkenny report also recommended that procedures for the identification, investigation and management of child abuse should be revised and that agreed protocols should be put in place which clearly identify the roles and responsibilities of the relevant staff and provide for appropriate inter-programme collaboration within health boards.
At regional level each of the health boards has reviewed its procedures in the light of these recommendations and has taken specific measures to improve arrangements in this area. For example, the North-Eastern Health Board has recently launched a manual of child protection guidelines which is intended to promote good practice by ensuring that child care professionals are provided with standardised guidelines on the detection and inter-agency management of situations where the abuse or neglect of children is evident or suspected. Similar procedures are currently being developed by the other health boards.
At national level, my Department, in consultation with the Garda Síochána, is in the process of finalising a new procedure for the notification of suspect cases of child abuse between the health boards and the Garda. This procedure, which revolves around a standardised form for the reporting of suspected abuse, is aimed at ensuring closer co-ordination between key personnel from both agencies in order to facilitate the twin objectives of protecting the child and the full investigation of any crime. The implementation of this new procedure on a national basis in the near future will give effect to a central recommendation of the report of the Kilkenny investigation. These measures represent the major step forward in the comprehensive review of current arrangements for the reporting of suspected child abuse.