I welcome this important Bill. During my 14 years as a Deputy only a handful of Bills dealing with children have passed through the House and we have much further to go in ensuring that children are adequately protected.
The critical issue at the heart of this Bill is the right to make public details of cases. I am glad that the Bill deals directly with this issue as publicity is vital in this area. Some speakers were concerned about the nature of reporting, that it was intrusive and seemed to be obsessed with details which might not be central to a case. Until such time as we deal in a mature way with this problem and put in place a full range of services which will respond to the needs of children it is important for these cases to be reported. These cases remind us of the need to ensure that priority is given to child care, prevention of abuse, parenting skills and services for the abused and abuser. There must be reporting of cases until such time as all these issues are fully dealt with.
The ISPCC has been to the forefront in bringing about changes in attitudes and leading campaigns for action on children. As legislators we could hardly do better than take on board the recommendations in its document "Towards a National Child Abuse Prevention Strategy" which was launched by the Minister of State. This document contains a comprehensive set of recommendations on incest, sexual abuse, neglect and psychical abuse. While most practitioners in the field are involved in the delivery of services the ISPCC has taken to itself a policy development role.
During the debate on the Child Care Act those of us who wanted the State to go further called for the establishment of a national child care authority which would monitor the implementation of the Act and ensure that services were developed and the issue was not forgotten about when it was no longer centre stage. The failure to set up such a body has led to a major gap in this area and there is no consistency in the way health boards carry out their functions. I do not think any health board could say its child care services are on a par with those provided by hospitals. Community care was regarded as the Cinderella service in terms of funding — it has received greater priority recently — but child care is even lower down the scale. This is why we only legislate in critical cases such as those which have led to this legislation. It is essential to set up a child care authority which would carry out reviews and monitor the system on an annual basis. The ISPCC recommends the appointment of an ombudsman for children. While I would prefer an authority the ombudsman could carry out similar functions. It is important to monitor how Departments implement legislation and to ensure that resources are allocated to the areas most in need.
In its report the ISPCC suggests that legislation offers the possibility for preventing child abuse. This Bill is important in that context but more legislation is needed. It also says that legislation can be used to bring about a change in public attitude and institutional practices. The Select Committee on Social Affairs has begun consideration of elements of the Law Reform Commission's report on children. These relate to outdated and outmoded practices which in theory still exist in our law, for example, the right to whip young male offenders. It states that society should be moving towards the introduction of a total ban on the physical punishment of children. Children alone do not have the absolute right guaranteed to every other person under the Constitution to their full bodily integrity. Their right to full bodily integrity is qualified by parents and those acting in their place by using justifiable chastisement in their care and education. This right, based on legal precedents, can be justified from the age of one. Infants of that age can understand physical chastisement. The Law Reform Commission and the Irish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children are strongly of the view that we should be moving towards banning that.
As long as we have double think in our society where we suggest it is right to do to children something which if done between two adults would create an offence and lead to a court case, we create a grey area in which parents and other carers of children operate. Occasionally they stray into the areas of abuse.
Legislation can be used to bring about a change in institutional practice. I hope I will live to see that legislation introduced in this Chamber. We in the Select Committee on Social Affairs will do some work on it in conjunction with the Minister of State and the Minister for Justice, both of whom would have an interest in these broad areas.
Where this ban operates in other countries, including a number of northern European countries, the impact has been significant, the level of abuse generally and of physical punishment of children has dropped. Also there has not been a rush of court cases as some people fear. Only one minor case has been taken in Sweden. Many of the fears which people have about the State interfering with families do not materialise. We should send out a clear message to parents that there must be better ways of dealing with their children.
It is important to debate these issues at every opportunity. This Bill is important because it ensures that the issues relating to one of the most horrific areas of abuse, child sexual abuse within their own family, will remain in the public eye and will be reported on. I hope that will be a stronger voice than I can be towards ensuring that we have further legislation and more resources and that this problem is not forgotten about.
