Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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I thank Deputies and Senators for their interest and questions. I will respond first to the issue raised by Deputies Troy and Ó Caoláin and Senator van Turnhout and touched on by Deputy Mary Mitchell O'Connor, namely, the Children First legislation. First, I am pleased to have delivered this legislation, which was first promised in 1997. No work on this issue had been done prior to my taking office and so my Department has done all the work on it. What I wanted was effective legislation. The committee was helpful in terms of its discussion on a whole range of issues in this regard. A number of the committee's recommendations have been taken on board. For example, I recall that Deputy Catherine Byrne and other Deputies and Senators were concerned that emotional abuse would not be included. The Bill provides for wide definitions of abuse, which includes emotional abuse. That is just one example of a recommendation from the committee which was included in the legislation.

As I said, what I wanted was effective legislation that would ensure that cases were reported and acted upon and that children were protected. That was the goal and the bottom line. I had to look to what were the best mechanisms to ensure this happened and at the role of sanctions in this regard. Deputies are incorrect that there are no sanctions provided for in the legislation. There is a whole suite of legislation applicable to reporting. The Criminal Justice (Withholding of Information about Offences against Children and Vulnerable Persons) Act 2012 provides for criminal sanctions against a person who withholds information regarding abuse. That legislation, which I reviewed the other day, deals with assault against a child, rape, incest and other crimes against children. It is a crime not to report such offences. The Children First legislation must be viewed in conjunction with this legislation.

Sanctions are also provided for in respect of professionals. Deputy Troy in saying there is no difference between guidelines and legislation is incorrect.