Child protection laws 'at a crossroads in Ireland'

The Government-appointed Special Rapporteur outlined three reforms already underway as key opportunities to address longstanding deficiencies in the childcare system, but said that opportunity must be grasped, even if it was "the road less travelled". He said child protection laws were at a crossroads.

Three reforms

Those three reforms are a review of the Childcare Act 1991, changes to the child and family law courts system, and the expansion of the Barnahus/Onehouse model of therapeutic treatment for children.

The Childcare Act reform is looking at voluntary care, which Prof O'Mahony said accounts for the majority of admissions to care but with far less regulation and oversight than care orders, meaning it is out of line with comparable jurisdictions. It also involves reforms of the Guardians ad litem, and of retrospective abuse investigations.

The family courts element includes specially trained judges and staff and dedicated child- and family-friendly facilities.

Regarding the Barnahus initiative, a pilot project has already been in operation in Galway, providing a "one-stop-shop" approach to providing medical, forensic, and therapeutic support to victims of sexual crime, using international best practice to avoid re-interviewing and re-traumatising victims.

Tusla has already signaled its intention to expand the model to Dublin and Cork and Prof O'Mahony said this would make a significant difference, adding that all three proposed reforms looked at the "day-to-day existence of people in the child protection system".

"The combined effect of three of those reforms could be very far-reaching if we get them right," he told those attending the online conference.

"These are generational opportunities and they are really exciting."

However, he said: "We do not know what the final destination here is going to be", adding that "past experience shows that a lot can go wrong in the process", referencing resourcing and training for those involved.

Constitution

As a relatively recent example, he cited the 2012 referendum on enshrining children's rights in the Constitution, stating that while amending this was the right idea in principle, in the end it was "quite disappointing" when it came to the outcome, due to the "quite weak" legal drafting and the fact that elements arising out of the change were then not properly resourced, such as ensuring the voice of the child is heard in legal proceedings.

"It's an example of how you can set off on the right journey but not get to the right destination," he said.

He said the "harder road" was one where the country was more ambitious in setting and achieving higher standards for child protection and welfare and he queried how he and others will view the current situation in 10 years time and the "generational opportunity that we have".

The conference, which is continuing, will include input from senior personnel within the Child and Family Agency, the Irish Association of Social Workers, and experts from the UK and America.