Very considerable progress has been made in the implementation of the substantive recommendations of the Kilkenny incest investigation that relate to health services. The central recommendation, i.e. that the Child Care Act, 1991 be implemented in full, has been achieved. Since 1993, and up to the end of 1997 £43.5 million on an annualised basis has been invested in developing an infrastructure to support the Act. Among the other main recommendations of the report relating to the health services and implemented to date are: the introduction of a new procedure for the notification of suspected cases of child abuse between health boards and Garda; revised internal health board procedures for the identification, investigation and management of child abuse; revised Medical Council guidelines on medical confidentiality in so far as it relates to child abuse; development of treatment services for children affected by abuse and expansion of community-based preventative and family support services, such as resource centres, homemakers, and community mothers schemes.
Of the remaining substantive recommendations of the report that come within my Department's area of responsibility, the most important relate to mandatory reporting, revised child abuse guidelines, a national system for setting and monitoring child protection standards and standardised child abuse registers.
Mandatory Reporting and revised Child Abuse Guidelines
As I explained to the House last year I am adopting a broad approach to the issue of improving the reporting of child abuse. The mandatory reporting of child abuse is a commitment in the programme for the Millennium which will be introduced in the life of the Government. I regard it as essential that this be done in a way which will have wide support from the professions who will have to comply with the requirement and which will produce a reporting scheme that is effective, efficient and sensitive to the needs of children. I also consider that considerable additional investment in our child care services will be required in advance of the introduction of mandatory reporting. I have already announced my intention of continuing to progress the initiatives to strengthen arrangements for reporting of child abuse as outlined in "Putting Children First — Promoting and Protecting the Rights of Children". At present I am in the process of establishing a working group to review the 1987 and 1995 child abuse guidelines.
The above-mentioned working group to review the 1987 and 1995 child abuse guidelines will also examine the current procedures in place for the transfer of records between health boards.
National System for Monitoring Standards
The establishment of a Social Service Inspectorate is a priority for the Government. The main function of the inspectorate should be to promote and ensure the development of quality standards in the personal social services. It has been decided to proceed with the establishment of the inspectorate on an administrative basis initially and it will be located within the Department of Health and Children. Advertisements for positions in the Inspectorate will be placed as soon as detailed arrangements for the establishment of the inspectorate have been approved.
