I would like to preface my remarks by pointing out that the case referred to by the Deputies has not yet been fully disposed of by the courts and that I am anxious to adhere to the request of the Ceann Comhairle and avoid making any comment that could in any way prejudice the final outcome of the case.
I share the widespread horror and shock that has been expressed by Deputies and my people around the country about the sexual abuse suffered by the two young children in the tragic case referred to by the Deputies. The extremely distressing revelations of the dreadful abuse perpetrated against the two victims has touched a chord in all of us. We all share a sense of outrage and shame that guideless, vulnerable children of such tender years have had their childhood innocence destroyed in this most heinous manner. Our earnest wish and hope for the children is that they will be able to put this dreadful experience behind them and look forward to a happier future.
I have asked the North Eastern Health Board to submit an urgent report to me setting out its involvement with the family concerned and its contacts with the other key agencies concerned with the case. While I do not wish in any way to pre-empt my consideration of this fully report, I would like the House to know that preliminary information received by my Department from the health board indicates the following. Concern about the children was first expressed to the North Eastern Health Board in 1986. However, it was the considered view of the board that there was insufficient evidence to institute child care proceedings to seek the removal of the children from the home. They had been examined at both the Temple Street and Rotunda sexual assault units arising out of the health board's close monitoring of the case, a number of health and social problems were identified within the family. The board arranged for the provision of a range of appropriate support services to assist the family. The health board informed the Garda Síochána about the case immediately it became aware of it in 1986; however, it was not until 1992 that the authorities had enough evidence to initiate legal proceedings in the case.
As I have indicated, I have asked the North Eastern Health Board for an urgent report on all aspects of the case. I hope the House will appreciate that until such time as I have received the report and have had an opportunity to study it, I am not in a position to determine what, if any, further action needs to be taken in relation to this case.
I am already on record as saying that the single biggest contribution that can be made towards promoting the welfare of children and protecting those who are at risk is the full and proper implementation of the Child Care Act. This tragic case has again reinforced me in my resolve to bring the remaining provisions of the Act into operation within the time frame agreed by the Government.
I assure the Deputies that I am determined that the legislation in its entirety will be implemented before the end of 1996. Having regard to the enormous amount of preparatory work required both within my Department and in the health services generally, I want to emphasise that this is the shortest possible time frame for full implementation of the Act.
It is all very well for Deputies opposite to demand the immediate implementation of the Act. In fact, the Act could be implemented tomorrow if I were to bring a statutory order before this House. I have said repeatedly that I am not prepared to take action that has no effect on the ground. I want proper child care provision. I worked on the Child Care Act through its passage here and in special committee and I also drafted a Bill which I brought before the House as a precursor of the current Act. An enormous amount of work must be done before we have the proper infrastructure and regulations in place to protect children to the best of our abilities. My Department and the health boards are working towards that at maximum speed. I asked my Department for the optimum fastest time frame for implementation of the Act. That is what was approved by Government.
The Government has embarked on a sustained programme for investment in the child care services in order to ensure that a comprehensive and integrated range of services and facilities is put in place to underpin the legislation and to enable the health boards to carry out their statutory responsibilities under the Act. In 1993 the Government made available an additional £5 million for new services in the child care area. The important new initiatives funded from this allocation include over 100 new posts of social worker and child care worker; three new consultant staffed child and adolescent psychiatric services; 20 new posts in child psychology; the expansion of the home maker and home help services to assist families in difficulty; the establishment of community mothers programmes in a number of health board areas; increased financial support for pre-school services in disadvantaged areas, and 30 additional hostel places for homeless children. Details of the full extent of the individual initiatives amounting to eight pages of documentation, put in place since the Kilkenny report, have been forwarded to Deputy O'Donnell today.
This year, an additional £15 million is available for child care. This will meet the full year costs of the initiatives begun last year and will enable a further round of new service developments to be launched this year. The child care policy unit of my Department is currently finalising proposals for a package of major developments in each health board area.
These allocations represent the largest ever investment of resources in the child care area and demonstrates my determination to ensure that the Act is not simply implemented on paper but that there is real and tangible improvement in the level and quality of services and supports to assist families and children in need.
In a structured programme for the implementation of the legislation, priority is being accorded to the commencement of those provisions which will greatly strengthen the powers of the courts, the health boards and the Garda to intervene effectively in cases of child abuse. The need for the early implementation of these key provisions was underlined in the report of the Kilkenny incest investigation. When this has been achieved, arrangements will then be made for the commencement of the other outstanding provisions, including regulations for pre-schools, etc.
Two working groups have been established under the aegis of the child care policy unit of my Department to prepare the initial draft of the new foster care and residential care regulations required to give full effect to certain provisions of the Act. These groups include representatives of the health boards, of relevant interest groups and representatives of my Department. Their work will help to expedite the finalisation of the preparatory work that must be undertaken before the next segment of the legislation can be brought into force.
While the central recommendation of the Kilkenny incest report was the early implementation of the Child Care Act, it also contained important recommendations for improving arrangements for the reporting, identification and management of suspected child abuse. These recommendations are being actively pursued at various levels.
My Department, in consultation with the Garda Síochána, has prepared a draft new procedure for the notification of suspected cases of child abuse between the health boards and the Garda. That was our first action which, happily, has now been achieved. This procedure, which revolves around a standardised form for the reporting of suspecting abuse, is aimed at ensuring closer co-ordination between key personnel from both agencies in order to facilitate the twin objectives of protecting the child and the full investigation of any crime. The procedure is currently being operated on a pilot basis in a number of selected areas and, subject to any refinement that might be needed, I expect it will be introduced nationally before the end of this year.
The implementation of this new procedure on a national basis will give effect to a major recommendation of the report of the Kilkenny investigation. This measure represents the first step in a comprehensive review of current arrangements for the reporting of suspected child abuse. At regional level, all health boards are taking specific measures to improve existing arrangements for the reporting and management of child abuse with particular importance being attached to cooperation and co-ordination between the hospital and community care programmes of the health services. I forwarded details of these measures to Deputy O'Donnell earlier today.
The Kilkenny investigation report also recommended the mandatory reporting of all forms of child abuse to the health boards. My Department is at present in the process of preparing a discussion paper on this question. Serious ethical questions arise for priests, religious, doctors and teachers in these matters. It is not as simple as one Deputy seemed to suggest.
The Medical Council, for its part, has reviewed its guidelines in relation to medical confidentiality as it relates to child abuse. The new code of ethics allows a doctor to breach confidentiality where necessary to safeguard the welfare of another individual or patient. This is in line with another recommendation contained in the Kilkenny incest report.
Apart from improving procedures for the identification, investigation and management of child abuse cases, it is also of the utmost importance to develop strategies aimed at preventing the incidence of all forms of child abuse. The child abuse programme known as "Stay Safe" has been of enormous practical value in teaching children coping skills in the classroom context and in increasing community awareness generally of the problem of child abuse. While there has been some opposition to "Stay Safe", both my colleague, the Minister for Education, and I are fully supportive of the programme, which is currently being implemented in national schools around the country. I take this opportunity to acknowledge the unequivocal support for the programme expressed by Deputies Fitzgerald and O'Donnell on various occasions in this House. A working group, representative of my Department, the Department of Education and the Eastern Health Board has put the process in train for the development of suitable materials for use in an appropriate abuse prevention programme for second level schools. It is expected that these materials will be ready for piloting later this year.
The training of front line staff in the health services likely to come across cases of abuse, whether of children or adults, is also being addressed in the context of the implementation of the Child Care Act. For example, my Department and the Eastern Health Board are supporting the Women's Aid organisation in the development of a training programme for hospital personnel dealing with women victims of domestic violence who are admitted to accident and emergency departments. This programme is being developed in response to a specific recommendation in the Kilkenny report.
From what I have said I hope Deputies will accept I have outlined a considerable progress report in building up child care and family support services and in strengthening the capacity of the health services to respond to the needs of deprived children, particularly those who are not receiving adequate care and protection. Much more remains to be done in this area and it is my firm intention that the momentum generated in the last 12 months will be sustained and that all necessary arrangements will be put in place.
No matter what system, law or resources are put in place we will never be in a position to give a categorical assurance that horrific tragedies such as we came across last year will not happen again. I am determined, as is the Government, that everything we can do to protect children from abuse will be implemented as speedily as possible.