New laws published to criminalise failure to report abuse

The Government has published new laws that will make a failure to report child sexual abuse a criminal offence that carries a jail term of up to five years.

Justice Minister Alan Shatter said the measure was about far more cases than what he described as "the fixation on the seal of the confessional".

The bill allows for a number of potential defences; for example, in a case where the victim requests that the information should not be disclosed or where a parent or medical professional is acting in the interests of the health and well-being of the child.

Children's Minister Frances Fitzgerald has also published laws that will put the currently voluntary child protection guidelines into law by the end of the year.

She said every person has to play a part in improving child protection.

"There's no one piece of legislation that's going to deal with this issue on its own…There's a place for everyone in every community to protect children," she said.