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Dáil Éireann debate -
Tuesday, 18 May 1999

Vol. 504 No. 7

Priority Questions. - Child Abuse in Schools.

Richard Bruton

Question:

24 Mr. R. Bruton asked the Minister for Education and Science the preparations he is making to release files and change practice in his Department in view of the Government's announcement on 11 May 1999 in relation to child abuse and the introduction of mandatory reporting. [13021/99]

Under procedures in operation in my Department at present, any allegations relating to abuse of children by any member of the staff of a school which is made to officers of my Department is reported to the principal and chairperson of the board of management of the school whose response to the allegation is closely monitored. If my Department is not satisfied with the response, the matter is referred to the director of community care of the relevant health board. In the case of allegations made directly to school authorities, present procedures also require all such allegations to be brought immediately to the attention of the principal or the chairperson of the board of management. Thereafter the procedures allow for an element of judgment on the part of the school authorities as to whether the allegation is based on reasonable grounds before the matter is referred to the health authorities. The introduction of mandatory reporting would alter that.

My Department keeps the procedure relating to allegations of abuse under regular review. A working party, representative of the education partners, is already examining the existing guidelines on abuse to make sure that they represent a comprehensive and fully updated response to this issue. Representatives of the health boards have joined the working party. In addition, officials of my Department are participating in the working group established by the Minister for Health and Children to review procedures generally in this area. This working group is expected to report in the near future, following which my Department will adapt and reissue the guidelines to schools and Department staff.

In announcing the range of measures relating to child abuse on 11 May, the Taoiseach reaffirmed the Government's commitment to producing a White Paper on mandatory reporting as soon as possible. My Department will make whatever adaptations are necessary to existing procedures both at Department and school level, in light of the structure established arising from the White Paper.

There are approximately 46,000 files and records in my Department relating to the old industrial and reformatory schools. These files and records go back as far as the last century and their content varies very significantly in terms of detail. My Department also has a significant number of files dealing with policy issues relating to the operation of the industrial and reformatory school system. These files deal with a range of matters relating to the general operation of the facilities, including issues relating to funding, staffing and inspection.

Additional information.The commission into childhood abuse will receive wholehearted support and co-operation from my Department and will have full access to any file it requires as part of its work. I have arranged to appoint a professional researcher to draw from the Department's archives all files which would assist the commission. This researcher will also assess the material on the files and will advise me on the contents.

In addition, I have asked officials of my Department to review procedures for making files available to individuals concerning their time in industrial and reformatory schools with a view to making the files more accessible. In general, the approach of my Department regarding our records on industrial and reformatory schools is to co-operate as fully as possible with researchers and others who have a bona fide interest in them. In that context, the makers of the programme "States of Fear" received the complete co-operation of my Department. The only restriction placed upon access is that files which contain personal details of former residents of the school were not and are not made available in the interests of protecting the privacy to which these people are entitled, and neither are the files relating to current Garda investigations made available.

Will the Minister make available to the commission which is to be established, all the files in his Department without first showing them to legal advisers who might advise on questions of State negligence and so on? Will unexpurgated and unedited files be made available to the commission?

Yes. To that end I have already appointed a professional researcher to examine the files and to assist the commission. The commission will have access to all these files.

It seems from the Minister's reply that the Department has not yet made preparations to facilitate mandatory reporting. The guidelines he outlined do not indicate that his Department ever reported directly to the Garda. How will mandatory reporting now be done? In the light of new regulations regarding mandatory reporting, will the Minister issue revised guidelines? If so, should the Minister's Department have begun the preparation for this?

The examination, with the education partners, of guidelines for reporting of allegations of child abuse in schools is at a very advanced stage. Schools operate a de facto mandatory reporting system. However, the Department of Health and Children has established a working party to review procedures for dealing with allegations of child abuse in every sector of society and in every organisation which has reponsibility for children. It makes sense for the Department of Education and Science to tie in with the recommendations of the Department of Health and Children, which are due shortly.

The Minister will recall that recent legislation retains the inspectorate under ministerial control. In the light of the findings of the "States of Fear" programme which clearly show the need for an independent inspectorate, will the Minister consider modification of that legislation to ensure a fully independent inspectorate?

No, I do not envisage the introduction of legislation to establish an independent inspectorate. In the period covered by the television programme, there was no comprehensive inspection system for industrial and reformatory schools. A detailed study of the files will throw some light on the nature and scope of the inspections which took place and the resources available to the inspectorate at that time.

Surely the inspectors should be entirely divorced from the Minister with reponsibility for funding? Is it not necessary to have that form of independence if we are to learn from this bad experience?

There are many lessons to be learned from the horrific experiences of the past, not least that we must put proper procedures in place. We must have accountability in all sections of the Department. The Public Service Management Act provides significant new provisions for the accountability of public servants. That said, the commission is to inquire into the overall question and it would be wise to await the recommendations of the commission. If the commission makes recommendations in that regard, they will be reported.

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