Shatter unveils plans to make failure to report child abuse punishable by up to 5 years in prison
Justice Minister Alan Shatter and Children’s Minister Frances Fitzgerald unveiled the measures in the immediate aftermath of the publication of the Cloyne Report and growing anger over the failings of both the Catholic Church here and interference by the Vatican.
Among the measures is the Heads of the Criminal Justice (Withholding Information on Crimes Against Children and Intellectually Disabled Person) Bill, which will make it an offence punishable by up to five years in prison to withhold information relating to serious offences against those under 18 years or with an intellectual disability. Mr Shatter said this will include doctors and priests, with exceptions made for victims of sex crimes who may be traumatised and need time to recover before making their complaint known.
Describing the measures as “a sea change”, the minister said: “It is unfortunate that we have to go that far”, citing what he described as the Church’s “private agenda of concealment and evasion”.
He said the Vatican had been “entirely unhelpful” when it described the guidelines the Church was supposed to be implementing as “a study document” and said it was up to the Department of Foreign Affairs regarding any possible correspondence on the report with the Papal Nuncio, the Vatican’s representative here.
In light of the errors by gardaí in at least three cases highlighted in the report, the findings have also been forwarded to the Garda Ombudsman Commission. A Garda examination into the Dublin Archdiocese Report will also be extended to the report on Cloyne. In addition:
* The heads of a National Vetting Bureau Bill that will allow a greater use of “soft” information will come before Government before the end of the month.
* The Children First National Guidelines will be placed on a statutory basis with proposals to be published tomorrow.
* The Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA) will oversee the HSE’s child protection services and will begin inspections next year.
* HSE National Director for Children and Family Services, Gordon Jeyes, is meeting with the National Board for Safeguarding Children in the Catholic Church (NBSCCC) on its national review of Church dioceses and religious orders.
On the latter issue, Ms Fitzgerald stressed that there were no data protection issues now stalling that process and she added she expected to receive the HSE’s audit of the dioceses in September.
“There will be no exceptions, no exemptions,” she said.
Mr Shatter said that similar investigations of other dioceses could not be ruled out.
