I welcome the Minister of State to the House and thank him for coming to discuss the establishment of a child abuse register as recommended by the report of the investigation into the Kilkenny incest case.
The urgency for introducing a child abuse register was further emphasised recently by the horrific case of a man sentenced to 12 years imprisonment for assaulting his five month old child. The man had previously been jailed for three years in 1990 for an almost identical offence against another infant son.
The report of the investigation into the Kilkenny incest case was published almost three years ago, in May 1993, and recommended that a child abuse register could have an important role in protecting children by assisting in the investigation of cases with reference to previous concerns. A register would also provide epidemiological data for research and planning.
The report on the Kilkenny incest case stated that 1987 guidelines for health boards recommended that the director of community care or the medical officer of health would maintain and supervise maintenance of lists of suspected and confirmed cases of child abuse.
The investigation team in the Kilkenny incest case was aware that the system of maintaining such lists varied widely across the eight different health boards, and there was some disagreement about whether they were lists or registers. They also concurred with the view expressed about registers in the Law Reform Commission's report on child sexual abuse which stated that, prior to their introduction, such registers would have to have certain safeguards and procedures. There would have to be a precise and standardised form of clarification of outcome.
Parents and guardians should have the legal right to be informed of any entry or change of entry to the register in relation to their child. Procedures for the removal of names from the register would have to be established and a system of regular review of data would have to be put in place. Also, procedures would have to be established concerning the disclosure of information from the register.
To facilitate the speedy dissemination of information regarding children at risk, the investigating team also recommended that these registers should be computerised. Access to information should be provided through the appropriate health care personnel including hospital staff.
Ending the sexual and physical abuse of children is a complex problem which requires the introduction of a wide range of measures. The introduction of a child abuse register is one such measure that could help.
I agree with the Minister of State's recent remarks when he said he resented the fact that children in certain cases were being named. They were named by virtue of the fact that the adults involved in the child abuse cases were named and therefore the children could be identified. That is wrong. Up to now, abusers in such cases have not been named to avoid identifying the children concerned. It is regrettable that in the recent case an individual was named and, by virtue of that fact, the child involved could be identified.
In response to the recent case, the Department of Health stated that it was considering the legal issues concerned in setting up a register. However, we have had the report on the Kilkenny incest case for three years and the protection of children must be paramount. This matter should be dealt with as speedily as possible.
I understand the difficulties involved in drafting monitoring procedures so that there will not be a conflict of rights between the individual — particularly a person who has served a sentence for child abuse — and the rights of the child. But the investigating committee in the Kilkenny incest case felt there was a high emphasis on the rights of the family in our Constitution and that this may, consciously or unconsciously, be interpreted as giving a higher value to the rights of parents than those of children.
The investigating committee believed that the Constitution should contain a specific and overt declaration of the rights of born children and it recommended a constitutional referendum to insert such a declaration. The Minister for Health at the time the Kilkenny incest case report was presented to Government was Deputy Howlin. In this House, in July 1993, the Minister said that this recommendation giving a constitutional right to children would require detailed consideration by the Government in consultation with the Attorney General. Has the Government asked the Attorney General to consider this declaration of rights for children in our Constitution? If not, will it consider doing so?
This Minister is responsible for the care of children, the implementation of the Child Care Act, measures that can be taken to introduce mandatory reporting and this issue I have raised — a child abuse register. I realise it is difficult and complex, but it is three years since the report was published and I would like urgent movement in these areas.