Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)

As I indicated in my reply to Deputy McConalogue, I will be launching the new Children First national guidance later this week. I also hope to be in a position to outline shortly the details of the legislation to underpin Children First. The Government has committed, in the programme for Government, to this legislation and I have made considerable progress in recent weeks in developing the scope of the legislation and the policy that would underpin it.

It is my view that the legislation to underpin Children First needs to set out a more broadly based approach to compliance than that of reporting alone. I have already addressed this in an earlier question. In order for such legislation to have greater effect and to be really meaningful, it should also focus on the need for multidisciplinary, inter-agency working in the management of child welfare and protection concerns. We need different organisations working well together if we are to protect children. We need people making reports at an early stage, passing on of concerns and sharing of information between agencies and disciplines in the best interests of children. A proactive approach by all agencies who work with children which seeks to safeguard their interests and welfare is preferable to a narrow view that responsibilities are discharged when a report is made. It is not enough simply to make a report.

The experience of mandatory reporting in other jurisdictions such as parts of the United States, Australia and Canada, is that its introduction can see an upsurge in reporting but weaknesses in the quality of reporting and the necessary collaboration between professionals and agencies needed to protect children. This has undermined the potential benefits.

The new Children First national guidance for 2011 will be published later this week. We will have an implementation plan from the HSE to ensure there is consistency in reporting of cases across the country by professionals involved in all organisations, voluntary and statutory, faith based and otherwise. The implementation of the new Children First national guidance and its subsequent statutory underpinning are intended to strengthen our child protection system and make clear the obligations to protect, report and respond to circumstances where the abuse or welfare of children is at risk.

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