‘Give gardaí the right to share abuse information’
Current data protection legislation forbids the transfer of such information from gardaí to the Church, and is leading to situations where children could be left at risk as a bishop and his child protection team aren’t entitled to the full details of the allegation.
The National Board for Safeguarding Children in the Catholic Church (NBSCCC) is not entitled to such information as it is not a statutory agency.
In an address to safeguarding volunteers in the diocese of Cork and Ross last night, the board’s chief executive Ian Elliott warned that children have previously died or been hurt in this country because the relevant people were not aware that risk existed.
“As we stand at present in the Church in this country, we are at risk of repeating these mistakes. We need to be able to talk to each other and to do so without the fear of litigation,” Mr Elliott said.
“Under the data protection legislation, the guards would only be permitted to share the information if they were convinced that there was a child at imminent risk of harm. The key word here is imminent.
“The most common form of allegation that we receive within the Church is an adult speaking about abuse that occurred to them as a child. The argument is that the threshold of imminent harm is not reached and therefore the information is not passed on.”
Mr Elliott said he believes it is “critically important” that all those directly involved in the safeguarding of children should be empowered to share information about risk.
“If legislation gets in the way and inhibits this sharing, we should ask why? Whose needs are being served, the abuser or the abused? I accept fully that everyone has a right to their good name. I do not challenge this at all.
“I am not talking about reckless communication here but I am highlighting how the strict application of the data protection legislation inhibits the ability of the many thousands of volunteers and others in the Church who are seeking to protect children by identifying and managing risk,” he said.
Earlier this year, it was revealed how a parish safeguarding representative had resigned her post because a priest in her parish had been the subject of an abuse allegation and had been sent for assessment but this information had not been shared with her.
“The legal advice given to the diocese was that to do so would be a breach of data protection legislation. She was a volunteer and not an employee and her rights of access to the information were also influenced by this,” he said.
At the same meeting, Mr Elliott commended the Bishop of Cork and Ross, John Buckley, and his team, for their work in child protection describing Bishop Buckley as a “a bishop who provides leadership and commitment”.
