I am aware of the article referred to by the Deputy which is entitled "What Do Teachers Do With Child Protection And Child Welfare Concerns Which They Encounter In Their Classrooms?" Its purpose was to examine how teachers in national schools dealt with allegations and suspicions of physical, sexual and emotional abuse of children. The study was based on interviews with ten teachers in two national schools. The author acknowledges that "no attempt was made to find a sample which would be representative of Irish teachers as a whole".
I agree that it is extremely important that teachers are aware of the procedures to be followed in dealing with suspicions or allegations of child abuse. In this respect my Department issued guidelines to all national schools in 1991 which outlined the procedures to be followed in dealing with allegations or suspicions of child abuse.
A working party, representative of the partners in education, is currently examining those guidelines with a view to ensuring that they remain relevant to the situations faced by teachers in their classrooms. In conducting this review, the working party is taking into consideration the recommendations contained in the reports referred to in the article.
Representatives of a number of health boards have been invited to join the working party at future meetings. I am satisfied that this type of close co-operation between the health boards, the partners in education and my Department will assist in addressing the issues raised in the article. In addition, the Stay Safe Programme introduced in 1992 has an important role to play in further raising teacher and parent awareness of child abuse and its prevention. Children are taught safety skills in the normal classroom context and these skills are reinforced with discussions with their parents.
