Mary Wallace (Meath East, Fianna Fail)

I welcome the opportunity to speak in this important debate. The revelations surrounding the case heard in the Roscommon Circuit Court last week have shocked all of us and have placed a focus on child protection. It is important that we keep in mind our deep concern, as the Minister of State at the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, Deputy Michael Finneran, has done, regarding the circumstances of the case of incest, severe child abuse and neglect involving six children heard before the court in Roscommon last week. I join the Minister of State at the Department of Health and Children, Deputy Barry Andrews, in welcoming the establishment by the HSE of an independent inquiry into these appalling events. The function of the inquiry is to examine the entire management of the case from a care perspective, to identify shortcomings and deficits in the care management process and to make a report on the findings and learning arising from the investigation.

To properly examine the issue we must be mindful of the work being done by the Government. This includes the work of the Office of the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs and the HSE and the many developments of recent years in this area. The Childcare Act 1991 and Children Act 2001 form the backbone of child protection legislation in Ireland. The Childcare Act 1991 places a legal obligation on the HSE to promote the welfare of children who are not receiving adequate care and attention. The primary emphasis of the Act is to provide services aimed at prevention and early intervention and, where possible, supporting children in their family situations and in the community. In the case of serious problems as judged by professional social workers, appropriate, alternative care services which place children outside of the home are provided. The Act allows for a child at risk to be taken into care on a voluntary basis, or pursuant to a court order. As well as supervision, interim and full care orders, which are the responsibility of the Health Service Executive, the Act provides for urgent intervention by the Garda under section 12 and by the HSE under section 13. However, in serious cases of neglect or abuse, it may prove necessary to take children out of dysfunctional home environments. Social workers must make these difficult judgments and it is the responsibility of everyone to report concerns so that appropriate responses can be made to reduce risk and address the need. It is important that such reports are dealt with in a timely and effective manner.

There are a range of key child welfare and protection policy documents and related documents. These include the national children strategy, the Children First guidelines, the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and, most recently, the agenda for children services. That document represents the overarching policy document of the Office of the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs and was launched in December 2007. It requires a focus on outcomes and integrated service delivery.

In recent years there has been a re-balancing and readjustment of child welfare services towards early intervention and support for families to reduce the numbers of children who may become dependent on State care. This reflects the policy of emphasising a preventive and supportive approach to child welfare. In many cases, this is done in partnership with agencies where the focus is on building capacity in vulnerable communities. The springboard family support programme, a specific example of this policy, is designed to improve the well-being of children and families in Ireland. All springboard projects have a general strategy of being openly available to all families, parents and children in their communities in addition to a more specific strategy of working intensively with those who are most vulnerable.

The HSE is aware of the need to work with well-defined information and evidence and not with unconfirmed anecdote. It realises the need to ensure that the evidence used is robust and valid. However, recent instances of social work reform have shown the importance to success of communication and timely flows of commonly understood shared information.

The child care information project, which is initially implementing the standard assessment and referral methods and, thereafter, will progress to improve standardised national child protection procedures is very important in this area. This project and other initiatives, such as the review of the Children First child protection guidelines and the publication by the HSE of the child protection framework, will work with the knowledge management strategy for child welfare and protection. They will ensure availability of better information and improved communication.

I am confident that the my colleague, the Minister of State at the Department of Health and Children, Deputy Barry Andrews, and the HSE can together significantly improve and better integrate child welfare and protection services for all children who need them. The work I have described indicates how much is being done to realise this objective. However, everyone has a role to play in identifying difficulties and notifying the appropriate authorities in an effective and timely manner to deal with such reports to ensure the protection of all children everywhere.

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