James Reilly (Dublin North, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I understand that we are discussing amendments Nos. 1 and 3 together but I wish to make a few introductory remarks before referring to those amendments.

Today, we enact important legislation, as the Taoiseach has just said. This legislation is important for Ireland's children. The legacy of child abuse in Ireland casts a dark shadow over our Republic, a republic that declared in its Proclamation that it would cherish all our children equally, but it did not do so. We know that the Ireland of the past was too willing to tolerate silence on the issue of child abuse, reassuring ourselves that our worst suspicions could not be well founded and allowing the abuse of children to go unchecked.

There is no silver bullet that will bring the abuse of children to an end but this Bill is an important statement of our collective obligation to put children first and to recognise that the rights of children are no less important than the rights of any adult. The passage of this legislation honours the commitment in our programme for Government to put key elements of the Children First guidance on a statutory footing for the first time.

As passed by this House, the Bill contained three main elements relating to child welfare and protection and following a Government amendment in Seanad Éireann, the Children First Bill also includes a provision to abolish the common law defence of reasonable chastisement.

The first of the three original elements of the Bill is to oblige certain professionals and others working with children to report child protection concerns to Tusla, the Child and Family Agency, and assist, if requested to do so, in the agency's assessment of risk. Second, the legislation requires those providing services to children to be proactive about child protection. They must assess the risk of harm coming to a child while using their service and produce a child safeguarding statement setting out the steps they are taking to mitigate that risk. Third, the Bill places the Children First implementation group on a statutory footing. The group, which includes representation from all Departments, Tusla, the Health Service Executive and An Garda Síochána, will promote compliance with Children First across the public sector. It will also monitor implementation of the legislation and report annually to the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs.

The Government committed itself to reforming provision for children and families, and this legislation is an important addition to the architecture protecting the safety and welfare of children. It requires those who know about risk to children to alert Tusla and ensures the agency will have the information and co-operation it needs to address concerns about children's welfare or protection. It is a manifestation of the reality that children's safety is all of our business.

Following a Government amendment introduced in Seanad Éireann, the Bill also abolishes the defence of so-called reasonable chastisement. The Government had committed itself to removing this defence, and following a proposal made by Senator Jillian van Turnhout, who is present in the Gallery, an amendment was introduced to remove entirely this outdated legal defence. I strongly commend the Senator on her initiative and Senators on their strong endorsement of this measure.

This issue has been under consideration for too long, having been considered by the Law Reform Commission as far back as 1994. It is not uniquely Irish, however, as international human rights bodies continue to highlight shortcomings in legal frameworks to protect children from violence in the developed and developing world. While physical assault against children is already illegal, specifically in section 2 of the Non-Fatal Offences Against the Person Act 1997, which deals with the assault on any person, and section 246 of the Children Act 2001, which deals with cruelty to children, it is only in respect of assaults against children by their parents or persons acting in loco parentisother than teachers that it is possible to argue in defence that it was reasonable for the parent to assault his or her child. Removing this defence in no way diminishes the primary importance of parents as the key educators and carers of their children. It does not challenge legitimate parental authority. Rather, this is an issue of fundamental human rights, a clear and unqualified statement that children have the same unqualified legal protection against physical assault as is afforded to all citizens. It is a practical and tangible manifestation of children's rights.

The Children First Bill is part of the Government's much broader agenda of advancing children's rights and protections through significant statutory structural and strategic change. The drive to enhance a prevention and early intervention rather than crisis intervention approach to child protection is at the core of our efforts. This important orientation is evidenced in the Child and Family Agency Act 2013 and the Bill before us.

While simple in form, the amendment can have a considerable impact in future for the good of children, their parents and wider society. The Children First Bill constitutes an important step forward in children's rights and protections. It is fundamental to establishing a culture that categorically proclaims that all children in this State are to be protected and that individuals, professionals and organisations will all play their part in ensuring this is the case.

I thank Senators and look forward to thanking Deputies for their contribution to the passage of this Bill. I look forward to the co-operation of all parts of society in making Ireland a safer place for children and to the realisation of the proclamation that we will cherish all our children equally and treat them as our fellow citizens, with respect and the dignity all our citizens deserve.

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