Legal vacuum failing children, says child protection watchdog

The absence of laws to allow the sharing of “soft information” on paedophiles is severely hampering child protection, the country’s top children’s watchdog has warned.

Geoffrey Shannon, Special Rapporteur on Child Protection, said his fourth report was a damning indictment of failed care for youngsters across state agencies.

He also called for tough new laws to criminalise grooming of children and people who pay for sex.

Mr Shannon hit out at the lack of access to soft information on potential abusers between the Health Service Executive (HSE) and the Gardaí.

“Arguably, statutory agencies such as the HSE are not adhering to their duties and regrettably the law is not assisting them to do so,” he said.

“The failure to regulate the exchange of soft information severely compromises the protection of children in the state.”

Mr Shannon said two-pronged HSE and garda child sex abuse investigations are in danger of deepening the victim’s trauma and reducing the chance of a conviction as children are interviewed by two agencies.

The report looked at four key areas – homelessness, criminality, mental health and prostitution.

Mr Shannon called for the creation of a long-awaited out-of-hours social services, the extension of youth homeless facilities to over-18s and an end to the use of Garda stations to house children in danger or homeless overnight.

“This (over-18) strict cut-off point is problematic and can lead to young adults becoming more entrenched in homelessness,” he said.

“(Out-of-hours) is a basic service to which homeless children (and indeed other children who require HSE care out of office hours) are entitled.

“If such a service is not going to be set up, an alternative mechanism should be found. It is unsafe and inappropriate to require vulnerable children to attend at garda stations in the evening or night to obtain help from the HSE.

“Furthermore, gardaí are not social workers or counsellors and are not necessarily trained to deal with such a situation.”

Mr Shannon said actions proposed four years ago to protect kids from prostitution, trafficking and exploitation have not been implemented. He said the people buying sex should be targeted for vice crime.

“In the last year, various advocacy groups have articulated their concerns on the trafficking and exploitation of children in Ireland. This remains an area of considerable concern,” he said.

Children’s minister Frances Fitzgerald said the Children First guidelines - which would govern anyone caring for a child – have been prioritised.

“I am determined now to redress past failings in relation to child protection. I will work in close consultation with Mr Shannon on the issues he has raised,” the minister said.

Mr Shannon said: “The findings justify the need for a separate Department for Children and a new agency which would have full responsibility for these areas and a clear accountability.”

The report also warned about risks involved with children with mental health issues. Among the other recommendations it called for institutions providing treatment to be regularly inspected and procedures reviewed to ensure children’s rights are upheld and for children to be consulted in the course of inspections.

Mr Shannon also said studies showed young offenders had endured abuse and disadvantage but the proposed amendment of the Constitution on the rights of the child excluded them.

“The young person who is in need of adoption and guardianship or involved in access and custody disputes is protected; but the young offender’s needs are disregarded,” he said.

“Such inclusion would serve a dual purpose: not only would it prevent the unnecessary incarceration of young people, but it would also help to create a youth justice system that addresses the causes of youth offending.”

Mr Shannon and Norah Gibbons, Barnardos director of advocacy, are part of an expert group set up to review child deaths in state care.

At least 188 young people involved in the care system died over the previous 10 years, according to figures from last June. More than 100 of those were from unnatural causes including murder, suicide, drugs and road traffic accidents.