Áine Collins (Cork North West, Fine Gael)

I thank the House for the opportunity to speak on this Bill. The Bill introduces a change to the criminal justice legislation to make it an offence to withhold information in respect of sexual offences. Every Member of the House and of society now insists that everything possible that can be done to protect children must be done. This Bill is just one small step in advancing that process.

The Minister for Children and Youth Affairs is making every effort possible to ensure that children are protected in society. She has done an excellent job so far and is dedicated to doing everything that is legally and administratively possible to achieve this. She has consulted widely and has been preparing for the children's rights referendum, which the Tánaiste announced will be held in the autumn as a stand alone referendum. Every party and Member is committed to achieving this, but the issues are complex. I was pleased to hear Mary O'Rourke praise the Minister on her work since coming into office on "Morning Ireland" recently. I would like to thank Mary O'Rourke for the work she did as Chairman of the Joint Committee on the Constitutional Amendment on Children. That committee worked hard examining all the issues and submissions from interested parties. The proposed wording for an amendment from the committee was agreed by all parties, but the issue is complex. Balancing the rights of children and the rights of parents is complex, as is introducing any new wording into our Constitution. It is vital to get it right. However, we cannot continue pondering the wording forever. For that reason, the Tánaiste's announcement on timing is welcome. I noted from Mary O'Rourke's comments that she, as former Chair of the Joint Committee on the Constitutional Amendment on Children, would be available if the Minister needed her in any capacity. She also went on to express the view, which I am sure is correct, that Fianna Fáil would do everything possible to facilitate the Government in its efforts to produce a wording for Dáil approval which would then be put to the people in the referendum.

This Bill is a stepping stone towards providing greater protection to children, as well as vulnerable adults. Under the Offences against the State (Amendment) Act 1998, it is an offence to withhold information in respect of serious criminal offences. However, as the Minister has stated, the provision of the 1998 Act specifically excludes sexual offences. This Bill now ensures there will be an obligation on persons who have knowledge of serious offence, including sexual offences against children or vulnerable adults, to inform the Garda. The loophole must be closed. It is arguable that had this provision been included in the original Bill, many children who subsequently became victims of abuse might have been protected. It is important to note that this Bill makes it an offence for every individual to withhold information, not just those involved in organisations, be they clerical, voluntary or State. It is an offence across the board. That said, there is a provision of which the public should be aware. It is not an offence if a citizen does not inform the Garda of vague rumours, innuendo or suspicions. This provision is included to prevent malicious rumours affecting innocent people. However, people with knowledge should always err on the side of caution and of the child. If people have concerns, they should report them to the HSE. It is important that the enactment of the Bill does not put undue pressure on the victims. Subsection (3) deals with this problem. A victim covered by the Bill cannot be guilty of the offence of withholding information if he or she does not report the offence to the Garda. It follows from this that a person who does not report the offence at the specific request of the victim has a legitimate defence.

The Minister has explained that the Bill has been drafted to complement the formation of the upcoming Children First Bill and the National Vetting Bureau Bill. The Bill demonstrates the separate and distinct roles of the Garda Síochána and the HSE. The role of the HSE concerns the protection of children and the Garda is the only authority that can investigate a criminal offence against a child. The protection of children must be central.

Last week's report from the independent child death review group highlights how bad the situation is with regard to dealing with children's issues here. We are all aware of that, but we must now stop talking and do something about it. I listened with interest to Dan O'Brien on the radio on Sunday and was struck by something he said. He questioned how the number of deaths of children in the care of the State compared with the numbers in other countries. I understand there are no comparative statistics. We do not know if the deaths in the care of the State are three times higher than elsewhere or lower. We need to find out in order to be able to measure or benchmark our figures. We also need to look at how other countries tackle the issue. We must examine what they do and consider how we can apply the lesson and make the needed changes. We did this in the case of road deaths and the number of deaths has dropped significantly over the years. We must do the same for the children in our care.

I am confident that the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs is so determined to get this right that she will consider these suggestions. This Bill is only one component in the Government's efforts to protect children. It is important that individual citizens understand their obligations under the Bill and that the HSE and the Garda ensure its provisions are upheld. I have no hesitation in recommending the Bill to the House.

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