John Halligan (Waterford, Independent)

The frequency and source of the denials associated with child abuse in Ireland, as we have all said, is nothing short of a national shame. The Bill is long overdue. It is a small start to ensuring what happened will not happen again. It is a pity the law cannot be made retrospective with regard to those who withheld information concerning sexual offences in the past, particularly in the wake of the Ferns, Ryan, Murphy and Cloyne reports and the systematic abuse of thousands of vulnerable children in State and Church run institutions. The legislation is very welcome.

I also welcome the assurances given by the Minister that there will be no ambiguity when it comes to the seal of the confessional. Sacerdotal privilege has quite an uncertain status in contemporary Irish law and there must be no instance in any attempted criminal prosecution where a member of the clergy can use this privilege as a defence for failing to disclose the information in question. Some have already indicated, as the Minister is well aware, that they may very well do this. We have to send and copperfasten a clear message in this Bill to the effect that it will not be allowed to happen. Any measures aimed at strengthening child protection in this country are to be applauded. Many voluntary and sporting organisations throughout the country are working hard to implement the Children First guidelines.

I find it a little disingenuous on the part of the Government that it is pushing ahead with child protection legislation at a time when hundreds of highly vulnerable children throughout the country do not receive call-backs from front-line child protection agencies because they have heavy caseloads and are under-staffed as a result of unofficial recruitment bans. The case of a child in my constituency who was abused between the ages of 13 and 17 made the headlines last week. The case was brought to the attention of the Garda Síochána and the health services. I spoke to gardaí about the matter. It is appalling and unacceptable that as of last week, the child had yet to be contacted by the health authority. As I said earlier when I welcomed this Bill, it will be of no value if we do not strengthen the services associated with child abuse to make sure every child in the State who is abused receives an immediate, quick and efficient response from the health service.

The HSE has acknowledged that there are glaring gaps in child protection services. I am concerned that as a result of this legislation, social work teams will be overwhelmed with cases of potential abuse that will be referred to them from the Garda and will not have the resources to deal with them. It is beyond me to understand how the current system, which is already allowing vulnerable children to slip through the cracks, as in the case in my constituency that I mentioned, can be expected to cope with what will happen in the future. I have spoken to many gardaí who are having to act as social workers by doing call-backs to vulnerable children who are tormented as a result of physical and sexual abuse. Many such children are not being contacted by our social services. I appeal to the Minister to think carefully about that. I am not being critical of him.

I welcome this Bill and I am pleased it is being passed. We will support it. I know I am kicking at an open door when I say, as I have said three times already, that we need to deal with cases like that of the child in Waterford who up to last week had not been contacted by the social services. I am keen to reiterate this point on the record. It has been acknowledged by gardaí that what is said to have happened to this child actually happened. The child's family are aware of it too. It is appalling that such cases are allowed to happen. In welcoming the Bill, I emphasise that we need to make sure children who have been abused in the past, who are being abused at present or who will be abused in the future are contacted by the health services immediately.

The latest official figures indicate there is a high level of inaccuracy in the reporting of child abuse cases. Up to half of the 20,000 to 30,000 cases of suspected child abuse that are reported in a single year tend to be reclassified as child welfare cases that do not require statutory intervention. That needs to be examined because it adds a level of vagueness to the system. When one speaks to front-line workers in this area, as I have done, one learns they do not think the system of classifying child abuse is unacceptable. They find it very difficult to deal with. Significant international evidence suggests that the introduction of mandatory reporting requirements in a jurisdiction results in a substantial increase in the number of reports made to that jurisdiction's child protection services. I will conclude by complimenting the Minister on the introduction of this worthwhile legislation, while reminding him that it will be completely undermined if it is not matched with substantial additional resources for certain aspects of our social services and the Garda Síochána.

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