Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent)
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575. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the status of the development of a national policy on protecting children from sexual exploitation, as per recommendation 5.3.1 of the Protecting Against Predators report by the Sexual Exploitation Research Programme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19003/24]

Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party)
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Children in the care of the State are some of the most vulnerable individuals in our society. Tusla, the Child and Family Agency, and my Department are committed to promoting safe and high quality practice in all areas of Alternative Care.

The Child Care Act, 1991, as amended, provides the statutory foundation for the promotion of welfare and protection of all children. Building on that, Children First provides national guidance for professionals, organisations and individuals to help keep children safe and protected from harm, including sexual exploitation and abuse.

The Children First Act 2015, which was fully commenced in December 2017, provides in detail for a number of key child protection measures, including raising awareness of child abuse and neglect, providing for mandated reporting of child protection concerns, and improving child protection arrangements in organisations providing services to children.

The Children First Act also established the Children First Inter-Departmental Implementation Group, on which each Government Department, Tusla, the HSE and An Garda Síochána is represented, on a statutory footing. The functions of the Implementation Group include promoting compliance by Government Departments with their obligations under the Act.

The Children First Act operates side-by-side with the non-statutory obligations provided for in Children First: National Guidance for the Protection and Welfare of Children 2017. These guidelines have been in place since 1999 and were fully revised and published in October 2017 to include reference to provisions of the Act. The Guidance sets out definitions of abuse, and signs for its recognition. It explains how reports about reasonable concerns of child abuse or neglect should be made by the general public and professionals to Tusla. It also sets out safeguarding best practice to assist any organisation providing a service to children to create a safe environment.

Tusla has a statutory obligation to notify An Garda Síochána (AGS) of all incidences of suspected child sexual exploitation, including those relating to children in the care of the State. AGS leads the investigation into these notifications. Consequently, Tusla liaises closely with Gardaí, and also has an assigned Principal Social worker based with Garda National Protective Services.

Finally, where there may be child welfare concerns, the onus falls on all of us to report concerns that a child may have been, is being, or is at risk of being abused or neglected. Tusla has developed a comprehensive referral system through which organisations, the public and mandated people can share their concerns for a child potentially at risk of neglect or abuse.

Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent)
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576. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the status of the implementation of recommendation 5.3.3 of the Protecting Against Predators report by the Sexual Exploitation Research Programme, which recommends that all professional care staff are provided with training and support to speak and listen to children and young people who disclose experiences of sexual exploitation to them; if Tusla have to date extended their training of the Child Sexual Exploitation procedure to all care staff in all residential centres; what actions Tusla has taken to ensure that all residential care units have clear policies and procedures for staff to follow to ensure the safeguarding and protection of children in their care; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19004/24]

Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party)
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Tusla maintains a Child Sexual Exploitation Procedure in partnership with An Garda Síochána. The joint working protocol between Tusla and AGS forms a critical part of the response to child abuse, neglect, and child sexual exploitation. A Principal Social Worker from Tusla has been seconded to the Garda National Protective Service Bureau (GNPSB) for a number of years.

Tusla has advised that online training on child sexual exploitation is available to Tusla staff, Tusla funded residential care staff, and to providers of SEAs. Training workshops are also facilitated where requested or required.

In line with Children First and child safeguarding requirements, service providers are obliged to comply with Children First and to have in place, and implement, policies and procedures. Tusla staff regularly ask for such policies and procedures as part of their work on inspections, audits, complaints, contract review processes. Tusla has indicated that all staff in residential centres for the care of children undergo Children First training, which provides guidance for the protection and welfare of children.

Tusla’s Children First Information and Advice Service (CFIAS) and its Child Safeguarding Compliance Unit (CSSCU) are also available to provide support and feedback on child safeguarding statements (CSS) and their associated procedures.

Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent)
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577. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the status of the implementation of recommendation 5.3.6 of the Protecting Against Predators report by the Sexual Exploitation Research Programme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19005/24]

Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party)
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Recommendation 5.3.6 in the Protecting Against Predators scoping study recommends further research into the prevalence of sexual exploitation of children and young people in Ireland. The study recommends a number of different approaches to research that could be carried out in future.

I note that this recommendation is aimed at investigating the prevalence of sexual exploitation among the wider population, in relation to children and adults who may have been exploited when they were children, encompassing a range of sectors and services across Government. In this regard, I understand that this was a general recommendation calling for more research into this important topic.

My Department funds a variety of research in relation to the services under its remit, or the remit of the Child and Family Agency (Tusla). In particular, concerning children in care, my Department funds The Child Law Project and the Care Experiences Project. While these projects do not focus exclusively on child sexual exploitation, they operate according to a wide remit in terms of their research into issues that affect children in care.

In this regard, the Child Law Project in particular has shed important light on topics affecting children in care over the course of its work. The Child Law Project, in its ‘Ripe for Reform’ report published in 2021, highlighted court cases which it had reported on that involved suspected sexual exploitation.

In addition, and prior to the publication of the UCD (SERP) report, my Department and Tusla established a Working Group looking at institutional and organisational abuse. My Department has requested that the Group consider the report and make recommendations as required, after which I will consider any further steps as may be necessary.

The Group is in the process of commissioning independent research, jointly funded by my Department and Tusla, into the area of organisational and institutional abuse of children, including children placed in residential care settings. This research will review international literature and best international social work practice and child safeguarding responses in this area. It is intended that the commissioned research will also look at the findings, learnings and recommendations of seminal reports on abuse of children in residential care settings, such as the Rotherham report, and the Rochdale enquiry.

The procurement process for this research was completed in January 2024 and, following a number of applications, an identified external researcher was appointed to commence the research in early 2024.