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Wednesday 07, January 2009

Press Release

Child Protection: "Our responses are still inadequate" Barnardos Says.

Dublin, 7 January 2009 - Barnardos, Ireland's leading children's charity, welcomed today's publication by Minister for Children Barry Andrews of the national HSE audit on child protection practices in Catholic dioceses. They also welcomed the referral of the Cloyne investigation into the mishandling of child abuse allegations to the Dublin Archdiocese Committee of Investigation.

However, Barnardos expressed disappointment at the limited scope of the report. Norah Gibbons, Barnardos' Director of Advocacy & Central Services said: "Obviously there is limited value to the report given the unwillingness of bishops to complete Section 5 of the audit questionnaire, as pointed out by the HSE. There is little to be gleaned from a report that is unable to look at the discrepancies between policies and procedures and practices on the ground, as Minister Andrews himself recognised. While welcoming the Minister's referral of Cloyne to the Dublin Archdiocese Committee we would urgently call for this report to be time limited and prompt in publication."

Barnardos has repeatedly called for legislation to be drafted allowing for the mandatory reporting of child abuse to those statutory agencies appointed to investigate and respond to such allegations, the Gardaí and HSE.

Ms. Gibbons said: "Mandatory reporting is key to ensuring that every single person takes their responsibility towards child protection seriously and in preventing people deciding to plough their own furrow rather than acting in the best interest of children."

"We have continuously called for the Children's First: National Guidelines for the Protection and Welfare of Children to be put on a statutory basis so that children's protection is given the highest priority possible. The Ferns Report recommended that the legislature consider introducing a criminal offence applying to anyone who wantonly or recklessly engages in conduct that creates a substantial risk of bodily injury or sexual abuse to a child or wantonly or recklessly fails to take reasonable steps to alleviate such risk where there is a duty to act. Such a measure would obviously be welcome in relation to prioritising children's best interests and requiring the timely reporting of any allegation of child abuse."

Commenting on the need for legislation allowing for the sharing of ‘soft' information relating to child abuse Ms. Gibbons said: "We have long advocated for the introduction of a system for sharing "soft" information similar to that operating in Northern Ireland under the Protection of Children and Vulnerable Adults (POCVA) Order 2003. We recommended such a move in our submission to the Joint Oireachtas Committee on the Constitutional Amendment on Children and look forward to that Committee's final report. We call for this to be followed up as a matter of priority by the legislature. If we are serious about ensuring the safety of children then such glaring gaps in child protection measures must be closed."

She concluded: "While much has been done in recent years in regards to child protection, we still have a long way to go. It is not acceptable that child protection guidelines are inconsistently implemented and that children in some areas of the country are left vulnerable to abuse. We now have to redress the mistakes of the past and put in place strong, statutory safeguards that prioritise children's safety."

Ends

For Further information:
Yolanda Kennedy 01-7080443; 086-3860638
Lucinda McNally 01-7080442; 086-3860638

Note to Editors:
Barnardos supports children whose well-being is under threat, by working with them, their families and communities and by campaigning for the rights of children. Barnardos was established in Ireland in 1962 and is Ireland's leading independent children's charity.

www.barnardos.ie

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