Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 25 October 2012
14. Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the action she will be taking on foot of the publication of the Health Service Executive Diocesan Audit Report; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [46702/12]
View answerThe recent publication of the HSE’s diocesan audit report represented the culmination of a long process of engagement between the HSE and the diocesan authorities, to establish the position with regard to the Catholic Church, in terms of the safeguarding of children and on responding to allegations of child sexual abuse against members of the clergy. The Audit highlights recent improvements in church safeguarding practices. However, as I stated on the day of publication, I am concerned by some aspects of the report’s findings.
In particular, the report identifies difficulties in categorising allegations with accuracy in terms of the time taken to report the allegations to the civil authorities. This applies particularly to allegations that were retrospective in nature. There were significant delays in reporting allegations to the civil authorities in the case of some of the dioceses. Also, in some instances dioceses had stated in their audit returns that they had reported all allegations promptly, but the HSE found that this was not the case.
I welcome the audits finding that there has been a marked improvement in Church child protection practices in recent years, in particular since the Church’s new ‘Safeguarding Children’ standards were introduced in 2009. It is also encouraging that the HSE found that the practice of responding to immediate risk to children was found to be generally good and is given priority. The review found that prompt action has been taken by Bishops to remove priests from ministry where allegations have been made. While the audit highlights recent improvements, it is clear that the focus must remain on addressing the need for ongoing improvements, in particular in those Dioceses identified by the audit as requiring further work.
The audit recommends that the State apply “its resources to intervene and work with all dioceses in a systemic way to address the shortcomings outlined” and “to achieve closer monitoring by the State of dioceses”. With this in mind I previously requested that Mr. Gordon Jeyes, the HSE’s National Director for Children and Family Services (and CEO-designate of the new Child and Family Support Agency), engage on an ongoing basis with Mr. Ian Elliott, CEO of the National Board for Safeguarding Children in the Catholic Church on this issue. The purpose of this engagement is to ensure that the Church has in place all necessary structures and practices to safeguard children in line with the Children First National Guidance and the Church’s own guidelines. This engagement will continue to be prioritised within the new Child and Family Support Agency when established from January, 2013, with a particular focus on dioceses where shortfalls have been identified. Ensuring compliance with Children First will be a key priority for the new Agency.
I have publicly welcomed the publication by dioceses of reviews carried out by the National Board for Safeguarding Children in the Catholic Church. Ten of these reviews have now been published. The continuation by the National Board for Safeguarding Children in the Catholic Church of its robust review process into remaining dioceses and approximately 150 Religious Congregations, together with the HSE’s review of the Congregations, will provide further transparency in relation to current safeguarding arrangement within the Catholic Church. While there has been very notable improvements compared to historic practices that were entirely unacceptable, there is no room for complacency, as evidenced by the concerns I recently expressed about the outcome of the National Board for Safeguarding Children in the Catholic Church review of three Religious Congregations, published in early September of this year. It is important that the work of the HSE and the NBSCCC be brought to a conclusion as speedily as possible, so as to provide a complete picture of child protection practices and compliance by the Catholic Church.
