As the Deputy is well aware the problem of child begging is a complex one which requires a more broadly based response than the Garda Síochána alone can provide. While there were over 500 prosecutions for begging taken in 1998 I am sure we would all agree that the existing legislation which dates back to 1847 and 1908 is inadequate to protect children from this sort of manipulation and that the welfare of the children is the primary concern.
I can inform the House that in relation to proposed legislation, however, section 247 of the Children Bill, 1999, which is at present before this House, proposes to update the provisions of the Children Act, 1908 and, in particular, to reverse the burden of proof so that if it is shown that a child was begging, a person charged with allowing the child to beg will be presumed to have allowed the child to beg unless the contrary is proved. This amendment of the 1908 Act provision, which gives effect to a recommendation of the Law Reform Commission in their report on vagrancy and related offences, will make it easier to enforce the legislation dealing with persons who send children out to beg. The proposed penalties are £250 for a first offence and £500 for second or subsequent offences.
In 1997, the Irish Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Children – ISPCC – launched a new initiative called "Leanbh", which put outreach workers on the street to identify young children at risk. This scheme works in close co-operation with the Garda, particularly in city centre stations like Pearse Street and Store Street. When the child is sighted begging, the outreach worker contacts the Garda by mobile phone who then respond and take the child into protective custody. The Leanbh initiative found that there were about 40 families consistently leaving children to beg on the streets of Dublin and that most of them were from a travelling background.
