Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 12 November 2013
36. Deputy Thomas Pringle asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs her plans to make child protection training mandatory for all those who have interaction with children whether in a voluntary or professional capacity; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [47837/13]
View answerThe Deputy will be aware that I published the Draft Heads and General Scheme for the Children First Bill 2012 in April 2012 and immediately referred the Heads of Bill to the Oireachtas Committee on Health and Children for consideration and advice. The Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health and Children published their report in July 2012. A number of submissions were received as part of the Committee's consultation process. Overall there was a welcome that the legislation would increase the focus on child protection. The contributions in the main came from organisations already implementing Children First.
Submissions were not all in agreement and many points emerging needed to be considered and reconciled. This involves consideration of policy and operational issues as well as the best legal approach to achieving Children First objectives. In this regard, officials within my Department have consulted with a number of organisations and individuals and I recently met with a number of key stakeholders to discuss the complex issues that have arisen. I have also taken the opportunity to consult with a number of experts in relation to the development of the policy in this area. These discussions will inform the preparation of enhanced policy proposals that is currently underway.
The framework is now focussed on the safety and protection of children generally; the provision of safe services for children; cooperation amongst professionals and organisations where children are at risk of neglect and abuse and finally mandating key individuals to report child abuse known to them. The latter objective is aimed at removing ambivalence, reluctance or refusal by people and organisations in positions of trust and authority to report child abuse and cooperate with the relevant authorities. The Bill will create a range of responsibilities and duties on organisations and individuals and these will be detailed in the legislation. The precise requirements on varying sectors, organisations and individual professions is currently under consideration and part of an ongoing process.
It is also essential that the related and relevant legislation is compatible with and will complement the National Vetting Bureau (Children and Vulnerable Persons) Act and the Criminal Justice (Withholding Information on Crimes Against Children and Intellectually Disabled Persons) Act. In parallel with the development of legislative proposals to put Children First on a statutory footing, significant work has been undertaken to achieve full and consistent implementation of the revised Guidance. I have established a Children First Implementation Inter-Departmental Group (CFIDG) to bring central government oversight to the implementation process. The direct responsibility for implementation rests at organisation level in line with the Guidance and the proposed legislation. Each Department represented on the Group has prepared a Children First Sectoral Implementation Plan. These Implementation Plans are designed to be high level documents setting out implementation requirements for the parent Department and for agencies under its aegis which have contact with children and young people. The Plans set out the mechanisms in place, or to be put in place, including training requirements, to support the continued implementation of Children First Guidance at sectoral level. They are for a period of one year, at which time they will be reviewed. The Sectoral Plans are available on the relevant Department websites.
My Department and the CFIDG continue to work in cooperation with the Children and Family Services of the HSE in relation to key issues and priorities such as the provision of information, advice and materials to relevant organisations/sectors to support recruitment and training arrangements by employers and organisations in respect of their staff. These discussions also include the development of a website and the implementation of a communications strategy in relation to Children First.
