Rights groups back prosecution plan
Schools, societies, religious groups, and medical facilities working with children risk being shut for failing to implement official guidelines on child protection and welfare.
Under the Children First Bill, all organisations where children attend without their parents or guardians will have a “designated officer” responsible for reporting child abuse or neglect to the HSE, whether it occurs in the organisation or elsewhere.
A person found guilty of not reporting child abuse or neglect to the HSE will face up to five years in prison.
Frances Fitzgerald, the minister for children, said there was a need to foster a culture where everyone in the State felt responsible for creating and maintaining a society where children were protected. “We protect children by making sure that concerns are acted on, not ignored. No exceptions, no exemptions.”
Barnardos CEO Fergus Finlay said the publication of the heads of the Children First Bill marked a turning point in the history of child protection in Ireland.
“It has been a painful journey but the learning from the myriad reports outlining our collective failure to protect children in the past has made the publication of this significant legislation possible today.
“We are entering a new era where all those working with children must take full responsibility for protection children from those who seek to harm them.
“It is all of our responsibility to ensure that the mistakes of the past can never be repeated and that no child is ever again left to suffer abuse or neglect because no one intervened to help them.”
The Children’s Rights Alliance also welcomed the publication of the draft bill.
“Putting Children First guidance on a statutory footing will change the culture of child protection in Ireland, ensuring that abuse is tackled head-on and not hidden away,” said Children’s Rights chief executive Tanya Ward.
“Putting legislation in place will prove a gigantic step towards building a quality and comprehensive child protection system.”
The ISPCC, welcoming the bill, said the failure to ensure that both statutory and non-state funded bodies were held accountable had resulted in patchy and inconsistent implementation throughout the country.
Ms Fitzgerald said the bill heads would be sent to the Oireachtas committee on health and children for consultation with interested groups before the proposed legislation was finalised.
She said the Children First guidance would remain the national policy, along with the new statutory provisions. Ms Fitzgerald said the principles and practice of Children First on which the proposed legislation would be build had become well established over the years.
“As a result, every year there are 30,000 child protection and welfare concerns reported to the HSE services.
“Over 16,000 are child welfare concerns; nearly 13,000 are child protection concerns while 1,500 are confirmed cases of sexual, physical or emotional abuse.”
