Child protection - Child safety risks cannot be ignored

DESPITE the fact that the Government insists that it is alert to the grave problem, and occurrence, of child sex abuse, it is dangerously lax in providing the resources to reduce the incidence of it.

So much so that three children’s rights groups have warned that vulnerable minors are at risk, and it is a warning that must not, and cannot be allowed, to be ignored.

It is inconceivable that the Children First Guidelines, which were introduced by the Government seven years ago aimed at reducing child abuse, have not been implemented in some areas because there is a lack of Health Service Executive (HSE) staff.

The Irish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children; the Children’s Rights Alliance, and the National Youth Council have pointed to what can only be considered fundamental flaws in the guidelines laid down by the Government.

Those guidelines are to be reviewed, and it is vital that the concerns of the agencies and others concerned with the welfare and safety of children be seriously listened to and acted upon.

Among the observations of the three organisations are that victims of abuse are waiting long periods of time before having their complaints assessed, and months before receiving counselling for the simple fact there is a shortage of social workers.

There is no central collection of waiting lists for social work assessment, and the only way a child can access counselling services directly is through Childline, which is not Government-funded.

What is illogical and absurd is the fact that social work services are not available outside working hours, apart from those for homeless children in Dublin, and even they are confined to weekdays.

It is essential that a 24-hour national social work service, available seven days a week, is provided, which would be, as the groups point out, key to addressing the problem of child abuse.

The absence of such a service creates severe problems for the gardaí and other service providers in helping victims of child abuse.

The Government’s guidelines were published in1999 and in the wake of the Ferns Report being published last year, Minister for Children Brian Lenihan announced that they were to be reviewed.

The country was shocked by the appalling and damning contents of the Ferns Inquiry, a 271-page report which exposed more than 100 allegations of child sexual abuse by 21 priests in Ferns over a 40-period.

More recently, this country was convulsed by the affects of the striking down by the Supreme Court of sections of the legislation relating to statutory rape, because its implications conjured up a horrific and frightening prospect relating to the safety of children and young people.

The Government reacted by introducing emergency legislation overnight, which both Houses of the Oireachtas assented to, and it was quickly enacted by the President.

In response to the review, all three groups have made submissions and two of them have called for the establishment of a National Child Abuse Prevention Strategy, and constitutional reform to incorporate the UN Convention of the Rights of the Child into Irish law.

Given the seriousness and incidence of this crime, and the intense public concern that surrounds it, the Minister, and the Government, have to provide every possible aid to tackling it.