Social workers urged to take care in abuse cases

SENDING an army of young women out to deal with horrific situations even gardaí find difficult could have devastating consequences, it has been warned.

Dr Helen Buckley, chairwoman of the HSE’s review panel for serious incidents and child deaths, said we could not escape the fact that social workers are generally young women and that recent high-profile abuse cases have shown what can happen when you have such a system.

“We are sending out an army of young women to deal with situations that even the gardaí would have trouble dealing with. So what can you expect?”

Dr Buckley said there could be issues of women being controlled by someone who is an abuser, but it was a bigger issue when others in power turned their back and scapegoated social workers when things go wrong.

The co-author of the Ferns report said social workers needed to be more aware of their statutory function.

“It’s not just that the law is on their side, it’s that they are legally obliged to protect children. Under the Childcare Act, the HSE is required to act in best interests of a child, and social workers are legally required to implement this. They have the authority and this needs to be understood. They can tell parents where to draw the line, they can say ‘that’s enough’ and should invoke the law in a more coercive way.”

Parents’ constitutional protection should not make a difference to social workers, she said.

Dr Buckley reiterated her concerns around imminent new laws around mandatory reporting.

“It cannot be seen as the solution to all of our problems. In the high-profile cases we have seen in recent times, there has been no evidence that it has been down to a lack of reporting — it’s the lack of response that has been the issue.

“We must be careful not to believe that mandatory reporting will solve everything. It sounds good but it may result in over reporting, and will take away from actually responding. It will result in more paperwork and red tape and could work to weaken the ability of the HSE to deal with the cases they know about.”

She said the HSE’s inquiry into the Galway abuse case where a mother and father were both convicted for heinous crimes against their own children will be as comprehensive as that into a case in Roscommon concerning abuse carried out over 15 years.

The report will probably not be ready until the third quarter of next year, she said.

The abuse was first brought to the attention of the health authorities in 2000 but continued for another nine years. The father was recently jailed for life for the horrific abuse of four of his daughters. He is already serving a sentence for the abuse of another of his daughters.

The mother was jailed for eight years last July for eight sample charges of neglect and cruelty to her children over a seven year period.