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

I welcome the opportunity to contribute to this debate and compliment Deputy Naughten on bringing forward this legislation. It is somewhat disappointing that the relevant Minister is not present today to respond to what is extremely important legislation. Given the horrific events of recent weeks and the disturbing facts contained in the Rape Crisis Network Ireland report and the CARI annual report, it is quite timely that Members are having this debate today. The Government must take strong legislative measures to protect vulnerable children and families from sexual predators. The Minister has confirmed that the Government will not oppose Second Stage, while in the same breath indicating it will bring forward its own proposals. It remains to be seen how similar the proposals of the Minister, Deputy Shatter, will be. Were I to be cynical, I would add that I find the leaking to the press this week by the Minister, Deputy Shatter, of his intention to publish a Bill similar to this Bill to be more than coincidental. The Minister knew he should have been quicker off the mark and wanted to pre-empt Deputy Naughten's Bill. I hope the Government's response will be forthcoming quickly and will not be merely a knee jerk reaction to Deputy Naughten's hard work on this issue. In his own contribution to the debate, Deputy Naughten has outlined how the Minister has promised repeatedly, since 2011, to bring forward legislation to deal with this issue.

There are a number of broader issues I will raise today regarding the area of child protection that Members should discuss in dealing with this specific legislation, if they are to take a coherent approach to safeguarding our young.

It is worth noting that the independent rapporteur on child protection in his 2007 report called for similar changes to the Bill proposed today to be made to legislation. He urged that extreme caution should be exercised, however, to ensure any legislation that could be forthcoming should be compatible with our Constitution. The fact that this was called for back in 2007 by the independent rapporteur on child protection and nothing has been done subsequently clearly identifies the need for having an implementation plan or a strategy for implementing the reports of these independent experts.

On Wednesday of this week the Rape Crisis Network called on the Government to introduce legislation that would protect therapy records of child sexual abuse victims in legal proceedings. This was something which was identified in both 2010 and 2012 reports of the independent rapporteur on child protection. Despite this being called for and being of critical importance, no legislation has been forthcoming. The absence of this legislation is acting as a powerful disincentive for victims to report their abuse and is something that needs to be addressed. If abuse is not reported, a register of offenders will not be comprehensive. People must be encouraged to report any allegation or observation of abuse, be it a member of the family, a friend or a member of their community. There must be zero tolerance of any form of abuse being ignored.

The other area we must tackle very soon in this House is the potential targeting of children on the Internet by predators. Not enough is being done in this area and we must learn from and replicate legislation in other jurisdictions. The grooming of children online is a deeply disturbing development and represents a growing threat to vulnerable children. The increasing availability of access to the Internet and its global reach means this requires a broader level of international co-operation if it is to be tackled. Alongside strengthening vetting procedures, this is one of the most important areas we need to confront to protect families from the prospect of child abuse.

The specifics of this Bill strike a fair balance between the issue of human rights, privacy and the threat of vigilantism on one side and the non-negotiable rights and inherent moral responsibility of parents to protect their children. In years to come, we do not want to face the sad vista of having failed to provide parents with a safe and fair framework to identify real threats to their loved ones.

The heart of this Bill is ultimately about safeguarding and protecting children from predators. It enables parents, guardians or any third party to make an application to find out if there is any information they need to know to protect children in their care. This Bill will establish the information on child sex offenders scheme, which will enable parents and guardians to inquire whether persons coming into contact with their child or vulnerable adult have been convicted of a sexual offence or otherwise pose a serious danger to children. It also provides similar entitlement for persons in authority in schools or clubs. Research shows, and we are all aware in the House of previous child sexual abuse scandals that occurred in schools or clubs, that these are areas where sexual predators target either by becoming an employee or an activist. That is why Garda clearance was introduced a few years ago to ensure as much as possible that all possible avenues for predators are cut off.

It is very important that we do not create a situation whereby we force predators underground which would pose a far greater risk to society as no one would know of their past. I hope the Minister, Deputy Shatter, will take cognisance of that, and no doubt he will, in the preparation of his own Bill. The number one priority without question is the safety and well-being of our children.

This Bill would obviously have resource implications and perhaps the Minister, Deputy Shatter, or the Minister of State, Deputy Brian Hayes, who is substituting for him, could address this in his concluding remarks.

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