Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)

I will do what the former Government agreed to do, which is to put the Children First guidelines on a statutory basis, as recommended by the Ryan report. Part of this will be a reporting requirement. It will be a different concept, however, to that where the focus is on mandatory reporting alone which other countries such as Australia have introduced. It will not replicate such a system. Legislation will be introduced to underpin the guidelines which are comprehensive in their approach. They are not just about reporting, but about an approach to the management of child protection cases to which every organisation working with children will need to adhere.

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