Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)

I welcome the opportunity to make a short contribution on this important report. I was glad the request by the Fianna Fáil Party spokesperson, Deputy McConalogue, to have this important issue brought before the House was acceded to by the Minister and Government.

On Deputy Cowen's remarks in regard to the forthcoming referendum on children's rights, the Minister will recall that I, when Minister with responsibility for children, put to Cabinet the proposal to establish the all-party Oireachtas committee. The Minister, in her capacity at that time as a Member of Seanad Éireann, was an active and constructive member of that committee which did exemplary work under the chairmanship of former Deputy Mary O'Rourke. I commend Members from all sides who participated in that committee. The late Deputy Brian Lenihan as Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform and I, as Minister with responsibility for children, were members of that committee which set about its work in a thorough, professional and constructive manner. I believe that if the Minister were in a position to make a personal comment it would be to agree with Deputies McConalogue, Cowen and I that the children's rights referendum should be held on its own. It is an important issue. I left a committee meeting early to come to the House to endorse the comments of Deputies McConalogue and Cowen in appealing to the Government to ensure the children's rights referendum is a stand-alone referendum. There are complex issues involved. Those complex issues were teased out in great detail by the all-party committee.

The role of the all-party Oireachtas committee was to deepen consensus in the Oireachtas in relation to the Twenty-Eighth Amendment of the Constitution Bill published in March 2007. I appeal to the Minister to use her influence at Cabinet to ensure the children's rights referendum is put before the people as soon as possible. We all know that pre-election promises have been abandoned by the Fine Gael and Labour parties. However, post-election the Taoiseach gave a commitment that the children's rights referendum would be held along with the presidential election, which did not happen. I appeal to the Minister to use her influence to ensure that the children's rights referendum is held as early as possible in 2012 and that it is the only matter put before the electorate on that occasion. The issues involved are complex and deserve discussion and debate in society that will not be muddled with issues which might pertain to other referenda proposals. We are all aware of the short shrift which the Government's proposal on the Oireachtas inquiries received. That referendum was badly handled by the Government. We do not want a repeat of that on this particular issue. It is important there is all-party Oireachtas agreement prior to the referendum being put before the people.

Like Deputy McConalogue, I appeal to the Minister to ensure that the additional social worker appointments are made as quickly as possible. The HSE stated some time ago, as did the Minister, Deputy Fitzgerald, that there was no impediment to those appointments being made. It is important those new positions are filled as soon as possible. The eminent Dr. Helen Buckley stated in her report that pressure on front line services resulted in their being unable to respond quickly to many child welfare referrals. This highlights the need to have those extra personnel in place as soon as possible. I am sure the Minister will agree that she is fortunate to have people of the status, competence and commitment of Dr. Buckley, Geoffrey Shannon and Norah Gibbons, and many others outside the public service, playing a leading role in dealing with children's issues. When they speak they do so with great authority, competence and status and have the respect of the overall community.

I understand the Minister is in the process of putting the Children First guidelines on a statutory footing. It is hoped the Minister is taking into account the comments of the Irish Association of Social Workers who have expressed some unease about the proposed standardised system being designed by the HSE to transform social workers' handling of child protection issues. As the Minister will be aware, the experience in other countries has been that the introduction of mandatory reporting has led to a significant increase in the number of reports and this puts significant pressure on social workers. The key issue is how to avoid vexatious claims and baseless allegations. We do not want the system to be clogged up with vexatious claims while genuine complaints may not be afforded the time or the resources they require. This is a very complex issue and I wish the Minister and her officials well in devising the protocols and the modus operandi for dealing with these issues.

I presume an audit of resources will be required and an examination of international practice. I hope the Minister can draw on the best international practice for mandatory reporting. The proper procedures and protocols are crucial before those guidelines become mandatory.

The report highlighted several breaches of the Children First guidelines, including, inadequate supervision of practices in the HSE and the family services and the absence of a standardised method of assessing the needs of children and young people who come to the attention of social services. It is important that protocols are adequate and appropriate and that everybody in the system, regardless of whether in Ulster, Connacht, Leinster or Munster, are working to the same standards. The report also referred to the need for specialised training for social workers in order to improve their investigative skills and to assist in engaging with families who are difficult to reach. These are very important issues and I hope they can be dealt with in a robust and constructive manner.

I understand a working group is in place to advance the proposal for a new agency. In cases where personnel are deployed to another agency, there is always the danger of a vacuum or lacuna being created which can be a concern to personnel. The structures need to be right and they need to be put in place as rapidly as possible. Oftentimes, unnecessary concerns can set in, along with a lack of enthusiasm, if a workforce is unsure about the particular reconfiguration and delivery of services. I hope the Minister and the Department can put in place the new agency as rapidly as possible and that it will have adequate protocols and resources to deal with the very important issue of protecting children.

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