Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I am delighted to speak on the Bill. I sincerely and warmly welcome its publication. It is extremely important legislation and, as the previous speaker said, it is long overdue.

In the report given to the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs in February of this year and published during the summer, the author cited this legislation as being of critical importance. The Bill will provide a legislative basis for the vetting of persons who seek positions in employment relating to children and vulnerable persons. When we consider the publication of the wording of the constitutional amendment on children's rights it is appropriate that we welcome the debate on Second Stage.

The Bill draws on recommendations from the Attorney General and the 2008 report of the Joint Committee on the Constitutional Amendment on Children. The Bill will make vetting compulsory for all employees or volunteers who work with children or vulnerable adults. These will include registered social workers and people working for accredited adoption bodies and in care and welfare of residences, designated centres for older people, child care and pre-school services, special care, mental health and private security. Later, I will deal with the area of child minders, which I feel should have been included but is not.

The Bill will introduce criminal sanctions for those not properly using the vetting system. In the interest of children's welfare, it is important that the Bill be implemented fully and that people who choose not to implement it face the full rigour of the law.

Fianna Fáil, and myself as party spokesperson on children, commend the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs for building on the work done over the past 12 years on the welfare of children. Some would have us think no work was done in this area in the last decade. In 1999, the Children First guidelines were launched and a revised version of the guidelines was published in 2009. The Child Care Acts 2001 and 2009 and the Adoption Act 2009 implemented key protection legislation. The Office of the Ombudsman for Children was established. Information and accountability systems within the HSE were improved and 256 more social workers were provided as part of the Ryan report implementation plan. That recruitment was exempt from the moratorium in place at the time.

The Minister for Children and Youth Affairs continues the good work of her predecessors. We have had many long debates on child protection and welfare in the Joint Committee on Health and Children in the past 12 months. The heads of the Children First Bill have been published and I look forward to it being debated in the Oireachtas. A new agency, the child and family agency, is to be set up and will I hope commence in 2013. I welcomed the agency when the blueprint for it was announced. I have some reservations about its management structure and I will highlight them to the Minister as we come closer to its establishment, but overall I welcome the agency.

The wording of the referendum on children's rights announced yesterday builds on the wording proposed by the former Minister of State, Mr. Barry Andrews, 18 months ago.

Reservations have been expressed about the information to be covered in the vetting process. There is reference to soft information, which is information that did not lead to a criminal prosecution, and it covers a range of organisations, from the Garda to the Teaching Council of Ireland, where this information can be collected. This broadens the range of information used in assessing an individual to create a more accurate profile of the person. However, the Irish Human Rights Commission has expressed concern about the balance between the privacy rights of the individual as well as the overriding legal imperative that one is innocent until proven guilty. When the Minister for Justice and Equality replies to the debate he may outline his views on this issue.

I also highlight the use of PPS numbers. I asked a parliamentary question if the use of PPS numbers had been considered in the vetting process and the Minister for Justice and Law Reform responded that in accordance with the provision of the Social Welfare (Consolidation) Act 2005, a PPS number cannot be used as an identifier in the Garda vetting process. This could be contradicted in the current Bill, where section 13(5)(g) states a personal identification number, if available, should be submitted in an application. I would appreciate if the Minister of State would comment on that in his reply.

In 2007, Dr. Geoffrey Shannon, a solicitor and child law expert, who now acts as the children's rapporteur to the Government, stated the type of information that is passed from the vetting unit to perspective service providers must be addressed. He argued that soft information could add another important layer to the vetting process, giving the example of someone dismissed from work due to misconduct or inappropriate behaviour towards a child. He suggested there was a need to clarify whether the Garda unit could process soft information and he would welcome a constitutional and legislative amendment to allow for that. This child care expert stated that it is right to include soft information in the legislation as long ago as 2007, although the Irish Human Rights Commission has expressed concern.

It is notable that childminders are not included among the people covered by this legislation. The introduction of the Children First Bill and this Bill presented the perfect opportunity to introduce a form of regulation for the child minding sector. The Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, however, has decided not to include childminders in the list of organisations and designated professionals in the heads of the Children First Bill or in this Bill. The Government must commit to the inclusion of childminders in the legislation and in the upcoming Children First Bill. We acknowledge and recognise this will require the introduction of regulation for the childminding sector, which will include the compulsory registration of all child minders with the HSE. Only those who register and are vetted should be allowed to operate. We will be tabling amendments to both these Bills on Committee Stage to ensure childminders are included. Approximately 75,000 in Ireland are minded by childminders so there are many children who are being minded on a daily basis by people - I do not cast aspersions - who have not gone through the vetting process. I have no doubt 99% would pass any vetting process with flying colours but we cannot be too careful. This should be taken on board.

The legislation that has been introduced in recent years and the constitutional amendment we now seek to make will not on their own provide a robust child protection service It is imperative that adequate funding be put in place to match these legislative changes and made available to the new family and child care agency that will be set up. In the absence of adequate funding, all the legislative changes and changes to the Constitution are window dressing. We must ensure the legislative changes are reinforced and matched with the adequate resources to ensure we have robust child protection services.

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