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Dáil Éireann debate -
Thursday, 17 Jun 1999

Vol. 506 No. 4

Written Answers. - Child Abuse.

Jan O'Sullivan

Question:

47 Ms O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Education and Science the progress made to date in implementing the package of measures announced by the Government on 11 May 1999 relating to child abuse; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15612/99]

Róisín Shortall

Question:

59 Ms Shortall asked the Minister for Education and Science the cost of providing the package of measures recently announced by the Government in response to the "States of Fear" programmes; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14078/99]

I propose to take Questions Nos. 47 and 59 together.

The measures announced by the Government in response to the needs of people who were victims of abuse in childhood include the establishment of a commission which will provide a forum for victims of abuse and conduct wide-ranging inquiries into the nature, extent and causes of abuse of children in Irish society; the establishment of a countrywide counselling service dedicated for victims of abuse, and changes to the law relating to litigation in child abuse cases and sexual offences against children.

These measures were the result of work carried out over a number of months and represented a determination by the Government to move away from the inadequate responses which had been seen too often on previous occasions. Substantial progress has been made to-date in implementing the measures.

The commission has been appointed and includes Ms Justice Mary Laffoy of the High Court as chairperson, Dr. Imelda Ryan, consultant cHild and Adolescent psychiatrist and Mr. Bob Lewis, a former director of social services in Stockport, England. My Department is making arrangements for the appointment of a secretariat to the commission and these arrangements are well advanced.

The implementation of the proposals relating to the provision of counselling for victims of abuse is also at an advanced stage of planning. The management advisory committee of the Department of Health and Children met the chief executive officers of the health boards on 26 May to discuss the establishment of these services. Discussions are continuing and the resolution of all planning and operational issues is being accorded a high priority by the Department of Health and Children and the health boards.
As regards proposals for legislation, the Government has given approval for the drafting of a Sex Offenders Bill which will provide for the establishment of a register of sex offenders and deal with the post-release supervision of sex offenders. It will also create an offence for a convicted child sex offender to seek or accept employment involving unsupervised access to children without informing the employer of the conviction.
As part of the package of measures to assist victims of child abuse, the Government agreed to legislate within the current Dáil session to extend the concept of disability under the Statute of Limitations to victims of child sexual abuse who because of that abuse have been unable to bring civil claims within the normal limitation period, and to refer immediately to the Law Reform Commission the issue of limitation periods as they apply to claims based on non-sexual childhood abuse.
In relation to the proposed legislation, the Government has decided to proceed by way of amendment to the Private Members' Bill on the matter moved by Deputy O'Sullivan. The Government supported the principle of the Bill at Second Stage and Government time was made available for that debate. Government amendments will be circulated shortly and will be debated on Committee Stage before the Dáil Committee on Justice, Equality and Women's Rights.
In relation to the referral to the Law Reform Commission, I am informed that the Attorney General referred the issue of limitation periods in non-sexual child abuse cases to the Law Reform Commission on 25 May.
On the question of the cost of the measures, the estimated cost of the counselling service is £4 million per annum. It is difficult to estimate with any accuracy the likely cost of the commission. This will be an independent body, free to conduct inquiries when and where they see fit and the Government has undertaken to provide the commission with any statutory powers and protections they require. The Government will also provide the resources necessary to enable the commission to carry out its terms of reference effectively .
The other measures announced by the Government do not have significant additional direct cost implications.
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