Maureen O'Sullivan (Dublin Central, Independent) | Oireachtas source

First, I acknowledge the Minister's commitment on the matter of safeguarding children and their welfare because we know too well the appalling litany of abuses of children in industrial schools, laundries, their homes, schools and sports organisations. I mention, in particular, the young swimmers who were horribly abused a number of years ago at the hands of coaches. We saw the ineffectiveness of the organisation involved to deal with it. I know that some of the young women in question are still suffering badly today.

We know that the effects of abuse and neglect suffered by children are carried into adulthood. In many cases, such abuse affects their lives and relationships with others negatively. We know that some of those who have been abused will abuse and have abused others. In Dublin Central, the inner city, we know the pain associated with abuse and how it has brought abused persons into addiction, self-harm and suicide.

Childhood is supposed to be a time of innocence. It should be a time of fun and enjoyment, a time to be care-free, with no worries about mortgages or making a living. The abusers in society rob children of the care-free abandon of childhood, leaving them physically, emotionally, psychologically and mentally scarred. For me, what is important about this legislation is what it will do to prevent this from happening and, in the event of it happening, the prompt redress provided for. As with every plan, it may appear good on paper but not in application. Likewise, child safeguarding statements will not automatically mean that children will be guarded.

I read the Minister's Second Stage speech in which she said the purpose of the Bill was to improve the care and protection of children by raising awareness of child abuse and neglect. There is now, for a variety of reasons, some of them awful, a much greater awareness of child abuse and neglect, in particular among children. This must be taken on board. There must be greater space for children's and young people's voices to be heard and their concerns, fears and situations, if one of abuse or neglect, to be addressed with the appropriate services. Calls by young people to helplines and organisations must be dealt with. While not mandated in the Bill, we must ensure the availability of services for young people in order that when they report abuse and neglect, their reports will be dealt with adequately. I acknowledge the role of schools, youth clubs, sports organisations, the scouts and girl guides, etc., in hearing the voices of young people and treating these voices with respect and creating within them an atmosphere of mutual respect and, in particular, respect for difference. Very often it is the inability to cope with difference that leads to abuse, particularly verbal and emotional abuse, although often physical. The more proactive we can be in terms of inputs and programmes the more we can create an atmosphere that is child-centred. Given that we know that it is a child's sense of self-worth and self-esteem that is most damaged when he or she is abused or neglected, if we can work on self-awareness, self-worth and self-esteem in children, we will see far fewer cases of neglect and abuse.

I take the point made by the Minister that child protection is only dealt with by mandated persons but that everybody has a responsibility to safeguard children. I have serious concerns about particular groups of young people, the first of which is young foreign nationals, some of whom are residing in direct provision centres, while others are living in appalling housing conditions. Regardless of what one thinks of how they arrived in the country or their status, they are children and they are not being treated equitably and fairly. What is happening to these young foreign nationals will be the Magdalen laundry-industrial school-type scandal in years to come. These children are being abused and neglected.

The second group is children born to parents with an addiction. These children are living with parents who are leading chaotic lives. A great deal of work is being done by the extended families and the projects to support these parents and their children. These projects cannot take any more cuts to their services. Like others, I also attended the pre-budget submission this morning by Early Childhood Ireland. One of the issues highlighted by that organisation is the lack of special needs assistants and specialists such as speech therapists who are important in addressing children's issues at a young age. This is another area in which we could be much more proactive. We are all aware that in many cases the Society of St. Vincent de Paul is paying for assessments of children with special needs.

I have read some of the criticisms of the Bill, including that it is a watered down version of previous Bills. I would like to focus on the issue of sanctions. The Bill provides that professionals working with children are legally obliged to report their concerns. However, there are no penalties for a failure to do so. In that regard, two issues arise, the first being enforcement. It is important that the provisions of the Bill be strictly enforced. The second issue is that of sanctions. On reviewing my notes on the previous legislation I came across an article taken from The Irish Times by Professor Helen Buckley on some of the concerns of social workers and the preoccupation with reporting. Professor Buckley states in the article that it is well established in other jurisdictions that criminalising a failure to report has led to unintended outcomes, including a disproportionate level of funding to manage the intake of reports, with a consequent reduction in the resources available to provide services for vulnerable children.

The article also highlights that a common consequence of reporting legislation is a significant increase in false positive and false negative reports, with false positives occurring where individuals, fearing criminal charges, report indiscriminately. As such, a high rate of false positives could mean families suffering unnecessary distress and intrusion. A high rate of false negatives is very dangerous because it means that children who are being ill-treated or abused are being overlooked. Professor Buckley also makes the point in the article that the lessons from the Roscommon, Monageer and the national review panel reports include "...that the principal weakness in the system is not failure to report, but a lack of commitment across health, justice and education services to proactively assist vulnerable children in the post-reporting stage of child protection work". This Bill will go a long way towards addressing issues at the pre-reporting stage, but this must be matched by what happens post-reporting. We need to be more active in vetting. We are all aware that delays in the vetting process are holding up vital work.

It must be acknowledged that the majority of abuse takes place within the child's family and home. I hope the Bill will be strong in that regard. Perhaps a timeframe should be set out in the Bill for a review of the legislation to see if it is working and the consequences thereof. I welcome the establishment of the EU-wide hotline for missing children. It is another progressive step in this area. On the proposed interdepartmental group, it is important that community groups working directly with young people are represented on it.

Child abuse and neglect require a multi-pronged approach that includes not only legislation but also funding for the vital resources and supports required in dealing with a family crisis, homelessness or a housing crisis. It is important that as a result of this greater awareness of child abuse in society there are in place programmes and plans for dealing with cases when they are reported.

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