Inaction on child safety cannot be repeated

The latest child law rapporteur report comes at a time when children’s issues are finally forcing their way up the Government’s agenda, writes Noel Baker

The horrors of the Roscommon abuse case and some of the tragic deaths of children known to care services in the recent Shannon Gibbons report are all too obvious. But buried within is another cause for dismay: Inaction.

In the Roscommon case, neighbours and others voiced concerns at what might be happening within the confines of the family home. In the National Review Panel report on the deaths of children in care, inaction was accompanied by intervention which came too late to turn things around.

Little wonder, then, that in his latest child protection rapporteur’s report, Geoffrey Shannon advocates a change that would allow others with concerns to use the courts to demand action.

It is just one of a number of recommendations being made in his report, his fifth since being appointed to the task in the aftermath of the Supreme Court rule on statutory rape in 2006 which saw some convicted sex offenders walking free.

His report suggests the Child Care Act 1991 be amended, allowing greater scope for non-guardians to demand intervention where there are reasonable grounds to believe the child’s welfare is at risk. It would not be a free-for-all down the courts, but if implemented could allow for more decisive action in cases already brought to the attention of the HSE.

It also looks at the shortage of suitable foster placements and demands greater monitoring by the courts of outcomes of its decisions.

Other recommendations include that non-Irish national parents of Irish citizen children be given permission to remain in Ireland as per the Zambrano judgment, and that the role of a lay advocate on behalf of the child at family welfare conferences be considered.

Elsewhere, the report calls for a criminal probe into the Magdalene laundries; interim measures to get 16- and 17-year-olds out of St Patrick’s Institute for Young Offenders and an extension of the remit of the Children’s Ombudsman to hear from inmates in the meantime; and recommends Ireland ban all physical punishment of children through legislative change.

As with previous reports, these are recommendations; there is no guarantee they will become law.

It is arguable that proposals in previous reports were somewhat down the list of government priorities, but with recent announcements regarding the setting up and possible shape of the new Child and Family Support Service, and efforts to overhaul the family law system, these proposals might receive more of an airing.

Make no mistake, problems still exist. The Irish Examiner this month revealed some children were placed with foster carers with criminal records. The rapporteur report refers to a shortage of foster placements, with private providers filling gaps, often short term, with anecdotal evidence of children remaining in institutional care for up to two years because a “suitable” foster family cannot be found.

The Government has been making all the right noises about transforming the child welfare system and avoiding past mistakes. Its response to the rapporteur’s latest proposals might give a clearer indication as to when this enlightened new system will be put in place.