Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 26 September 2012
23. Deputy Thomas P. Broughan asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the action she will take in response to the findings of the National Board for Safeguarding Children in the Catholic Church; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [40494/12]
View answerThe findings of the latest seven reviews published by the National Board for Safeguarding Children in the Catholic Church were shocking in nature, particularly in the context of the three Religious Congregations reviewed and the scale of alleged sexual abuse, the application of standards and the management of abuse allegations and alleged offenders.
I have had recent discussions with Ian Elliott, CEO of the Safeguarding Board, since the publication of the reports and it is my intention to meet jointly with Mr. Elliott and Mr. Gordon Jeyes, the HSE’s National Director for Children and Family Services, to discuss the findings of the reviews. Both organisations have been working collaboratively at my request to promote improved safeguarding practices across the Church. I acknowledge the advances being made by the National Board in terms of increasing awareness of Church safeguarding practices. I also welcome the willingness of the various Church bodies thus far reviewed to engage with this review process and publish the results. However, the recent review reports shed further light on poor historic practices within the Catholic Church, and while efforts have been made to address poor practice, this is in some cases a very recent development.
My colleague the Minister for Justice, Equality and Defence Alan Shatter TD also recently discussed the publication of the National Board’s reports with the Garda Commissioner and was informed that the Garda Sexual Crime Management Unit is examining those reports in the context of establishing what further action may be necessary on the part of An Garda Síochána in relation to them. Given that much of the reported abuse highlighted in the reviews published into three Religious Congregations took place in schools, the findings will be of particular interest to my colleague the Minister for Education and Skills, Ruairi Quinn TD.
The work of the National Safeguarding Board, together with a national audit which is being conducted by the HSE, is designed to provide a comprehensive national picture of how child protection is being promulgated and practiced by the Church dioceses and Congregations. I recently received the report of the HSE Audit of Catholic Church dioceses, and it is intended that this will be published shortly. The HSE is also conducting a review of safeguarding practices across Religious Congregations.
The Government has committed to, and is putting in place as a priority, a range of legislative provisions which, when taken together, will help to better safeguard children. These include:
(i) the planned introduction of legislation to place the Children First guidance on a statutory footing;
(ii) the introduction of the Criminal Justice (Withholding of Information on Offences Against Children and Vulnerable Adults) Act, 2012, which was brought into force on 1 August last by my colleague the Minister for Justice, Equality and Defence, Alan Shatter TD, and which introduced a very important measure designed to deal with the problem of people failing to report abuse;
(iii) the National Vetting Bureau (Children and Vulnerable Persons) Bill, 2012, which is currently progressing through the Houses of the Oireachtas.
In parallel, an extensive reform programme relating to children’s services is ongoing within the HSE and in consultation with my Department, which will lead to the establishment of a dedicated Child and Family Support Agency. I have also in the last week published the Constitutional amendment on children’s rights, which I believe will further heighten our awareness of the need to protect children. Finally, I would encourage all Church authorities, who have not yet been reviewed, to cooperate with the review processes of both the National Board and the HSE. It is only through assessment, publication and analysis that we can fully establish the national picture on the reporting and handling of abuse allegations by these authorities.
