Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I am glad to have an opportunity to speak about this important legislation and compliment the Minister on bringing it before the House. It has been long-awaited. It was spoken about for a long time, during which many commentators pointed to the need for it. The Minister went about it in the right way in the sense that the day a Minister enters office for the first time is the day the target has to be set because it takes approximately three years to achieve it. That is exactly what it took in this case.

This is ground-breaking legislation. Let us not forget that there are peculiar attitudes in this country and worldwide about children and what is deemed to be neglect and abuse. It comes after a long history of appallingly sad events in the way children were dealt with in our society. It is an appalling reflection on the degree to which society did not seem to care because, obviously, children were young and innocent and perhaps, in some cases, not able to communicate. In many cases, they did, but they were not believed. Even when it was obvious that there were serious issues that needed to be dealt with, they still were not believed. We should learn one or two lessons from this. The innocence of children is something we must always try to protect because to pollute the mind of a child is an appalling act. It is unpardonable, not only for the perpetrator but also for society, on which it reflects.

Every one of us in this House has dealt during the years with serious cases in which there was evidence of child abuse in various forms, whether it be physical, mental or sexual, or by silence and control. It is sad that we did not learn enough and did not learn in time and, for some unknown reason, continued to pursue policies that were more in keeping with a Dickensian age. I was a member of the visiting committee of the health board many years ago and it was appalling to observe the neglect inflicted on innocent children who knew of no reason for the neglect and had nobody to whom they could talk, the reason being they had special needs. These poor children had, for want of a better description, been "detained" in utterly appalling conditions. My biggest concern at the time was that there were persons in charge who did not think there was anything wrong with it and that it could continue. That is merely one of many instances about which I spoke in the House at least 30 years ago. Sadly, it took the scandals and upheavals of recent years to finally bring recognition to bear on us and recognise that something had to be done about it. One should not forget that in the recent referendum campaign on the rights of children 100% of the population were not in agreement with the proposal, which is also a sad reflection on our society.

At this stage, we should compliment the Minister on having the courage to stay resolutely with the task of bringing the legislation before the House.

We hope it will do the job it is intended to do. If legislation does not work to the extent intended, it should be re-examined. I have said this about all legislation during my time in this House. If it transpires that there are weaknesses in legislation, we should be able to amend it where possible and not wait an abnormally long time before doing so, as the Minister will readily recognise. Obviously, we cannot get everything right at the first attempt all the time, but we hope it will be done in this instance.

We all need to be aware of the reportage on child abuse. We have all seen situations where we would have had inner concerns about what might happen behind the halldoor to children, women, teenagers, people with special needs and other vulnerable persons. There may be other competing issues in a household also. Some such cases have, unfortunately, ended tragically. On occasion, we pointed to the likelihood of something of that nature happening, although we were not always believed, no more than adults were when they protested during the years about how they had been treated as children. Some of them did not realise they were being abused, as we must remember an innocent child believes what he or she is told. They believed the treatment to which they were being subjected was normal and that that was the way life was in society. It is sad.

We have still not addressed all of these issues, but, at least, this legislation sets down fundamental guidelines and parameters within which action can be taken in the interests of children. The Children First Bill is well named in that the child should be our first concern. Children are vulnerable and dependent on those around them, as well as on their circumstances. We failed to address that issue for a very long time. At this late stage, I hope we can fully recognise our failings in that regard. There must be a commitment by everybody and society at large, both within and outside families, to ensure it does not recur.

Even in recent times we have had examples of some peculiar activity concerning those charged with the responsibility of looking after children, but that should not happen in a civilised society. I wonder whether we are, to some extent, governed by modern communications technology, including the Internet. Child abuse is perpetrated through the electronic media, yet, amazingly, it seems nobody can do anything about it. I do not agree, however, that it is impossible to control it. When technology is established, electronic or otherwise, it must be possible to control it and quickly.

A previous speaker referred to the portrayal on television of violence against women, children and other vulnerable persons. Of course, the human mind is conditioned by this and after a while, people expect that this is part and parcel of life. Children will be influenced by something like this very quickly and come to believe it is the normal way to behave. They, in turn, will treat other children in the same way as it is depicted in the media.

Internet grooming is another issue that has arisen in recent years. We know it goes on, but we are having great difficulty in dealing with it. One person's freedom can involve the incarceration of another or the restriction of his or her rights. When any person, group or agency seeks to restrict the rights and entitlements of a vulnerable dependant such as a child or older person, it reflects badly on our society.

In our clinics we all meet the parents of children with special needs. They are valiantly providing for their families and trying to make available to their children whatever facilities can be obtained. I pay tribute to parents in such circumstances. It bring tears to one's eyes the degree to which such parents, usually mothers, will go to the ends of the earth to achieve the best possible outcome in what appear to be appalling and depressing circumstances.

The Celtic tiger implosion may have been good in that it has brought us all to our senses. It is not all about material things because there are other aspects also. In rebuilding our society I hope we will have greater regard for the needs of those who look up to us for support and an improvement in their quality of life. They depend on us, as legislators, to give the lead. We should know what we are doing and be forward thinking.

The threat posed by Internet pornography has serious implications for children. People may say it can be blocked off on television, but there are other ways of circumventing this and hackers are past masters at doing so. They specialise in it. The problem does not affect this country alone but also various other jurisdictions, including Belgium and the United States, where appalling atrocities have been perpetrated on children through the use of electronic media. In Nigeria recently children were taken away from their school and are going to be sold into slavery. What an appalling thing to do to another human being in a so-called civilised society. It is all very fine for us to say it did not happen here. That may be so, but other things did happen here that were of no great credit to us. We are living in a very cold and callous society, even though we have been known for our charity and concern. That is as it should be, but let us not forget that we have been callous in turning the other way and averting our gaze from the kinds of thing that occur which are a major slur on society.

From time to time, like others in the House, I have had to deal with the question of reporting suspicious circumstances. The difficulty is that one is loath to err by suggesting something might be wrong if, in fact, it is not. When I was first elected to the House many years ago, I used to be scared that anything I might say might not be factual. Having listened to some of the things said in the House during the years, however, I have reassured myself that one should not have to worry about such things. In the event that we have a deep suspicion that something is not as it should concerning children, we must always take action. We should seek reassurance and report to the appropriate authorities in whatever way we can, not to undermine the character of the people or institutions concerned but to try to ensure children are cared for as they should be. We must seek to avoid neglect and the kinds of situation we have had during the years where children were simply ignored. In so doing we will set a new standard for the future.

I hope the legislation will the job it is intended to do. It is extremely broadly-based and the provisions the Minister has made are adequate to do the job. However, there are always instances in which someone ignores the obvious. It is amazing. If people ignore the obvious in a situation such as this, which is not to say the Minister or anyone else can patrol or supervise every institution or circumstance, it is important that there be a clear recognition that there must be retribution and accountability, for which I am afraid we are not great in this country. Sadly, the chances are that someone will say, "Look, in the circumstances of the time, it was not possible," refer to the one hand and the other and express all of the other nonsense spoken from time to time. I hope, however, that the legislation will stand the test of time and do the job it is intended to do, which is to put children first.

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