Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)

I thank the House for the invitation to speak in this debate on the Cloyne report. This debate is important because it allows this House to register and commend the bravery of all those individuals who came forward and told the commission of their experiences. Without their crucial input we would not have a report of such detail and quality. I hope they will find some measure of comfort in the response to the report to ensure that experiences such as theirs are never repeated, especially within an organisation that has preached and preaches love, friendship and respect, but, unfortunately, whose practices did not match that which it preached. This debate allows me to reiterate the sincere apologies for the failings of the State as expressed by the Minister for Justice and Equality, Deputy Shatter and me at the launching of the report.

This is the fourth full-scale investigation into the handling of allegations of child abuse by Church authorities. What is particularly grave about the Cloyne report is that it analyses practices of a Catholic diocese almost to this day. As recently as three years ago, unacceptable practices were being followed by a diocese that misled the State about its approach to the handling of sensitive child abuse allegations which means the damage continued long after it should have ceased. One victim of child abuse who recently wrote to The Irish Times referred to, "old feelings of insecurity, anger, mistrust and disgust". Chapter 27 of the report bears reading again in this regard. Those words ring true for so many who held on to the belief that wrongs perpetrated against them in the past would surely never be repeated and that the organisation had learned its lessons.

My task is to move beyond examination of the past to a future where children are safe, whether in the family home, at school, in church or engaging in any other activities, formally or informally. The Government is acting with urgency and an absolute determination to bring forward a programme of decisive actions to strengthen the State's child protection framework.

On behalf of the Government and in conjunction with my colleague, Deputy Shatter, I am engaged in a series of measures designed to enhance child protection. The Minister, Deputy Shatter, has published the Criminal Justice (Withholding Information on Crimes against Children and Intellectually Disabled Persons) Bill 2011. The week before last I published the Children First National Guidance 2011. The guidance provides a robust code for the protection and welfare of children, offering clear direction to individuals, organisations and agencies on what they need to do to keep children safe. I urge people and organisations to familiarise themselves with the guidance. In recognition of the importance of Children First,the HSE will publish an associated child protection and welfare practice handbook, which will assist front-line professionals in the conduct of their duties. These two publications will provide clearer direction and support to front line staff and organisations working with children. They will also set out the respective roles of the statutory agencies responsible for child protection.

I also recently received Government agreement to introduce legislation to require, for the first time, statutory compliance with Children First. This will include a statutory requirement on individuals to report to the relevant authorities in circumstances where, in good faith, they have reasonable concerns about the abuse or neglect of a child. However, as I have emphasised repeatedly, the scope of Children First extends beyond the narrow focus of reporting per se. We do not want to create a reporting culture solely. I propose a much broader-based and comprehensive approach to child protection, laying down the broader responsibilities of organisations which are in contact with or provide services to children. This will include a requirement on sharing information which is so important if we are to protect children. If we are to protect children we need organisations working cohesively and comprehensively together at local level. The need for such requirement was proven again on foot of reports of the Donegal case.

We learned of the shockingly inadequate and inappropriate response by the diocese of Cloyne to complaints and allegations of child sexual abuse in the period between 1996 and 2008. The diocese did not comply with the church's adopted guidelines, nor did it comply with Children First. It is therefore vital that guidance translates into implementation. We must have compliance without exception or exemptions. Never again should someone be allowed to place the protection of the institution or organisation above the protection of children. When it comes to child protection, the days of voluntary compliance are over.

The new legislation I will introduce will provide for a strong system of inspection and oversight. On the need to provide demonstrable evidence that the guidance is being implemented correctly across all sectors, we will also have an assurance framework, setting out the responsibilities of each Department and sector working with children. I will chair an inter-departmental committee to ensure this framework is implemented. We must focus on appropriate management, consistency of response and the creation of a world class model of child protection. In this regard the recruitment of 270 additional child protection social workers is continuing. We expect that 260 of these posts - exempt from the public service recruitment embargo - will be filled by the end of this year. My colleague, the Minister for Justice and Equality, Deputy Alan Shatter and the Department of Justice and Equality, has today published the heads of a Vetting Bill, another very important part of the architecture of child protection and which has been requested for a long time. This Bill will be considered by the committee and the Minister will give more details about the Bill today.

I will soon be in receipt of the long awaited report of the HSE audit of child protection in Roman Catholic dioceses, which should indicate whether all allegations known to church authorities are being properly reported to the State authorities, namely the Garda Síochána and the HSE. I expect the first part of that report in September. In the meantime I have asked the HSE's national director for children and family services, Mr. Gordon Jeyes, to engage directly with the national board for safeguarding children on a programme of action designed to ensure that the Catholic Church responds properly and comprehensively to all child protection concerns. The church has indicated its wish to co-operate with the statutory authorities and Mr. Jeyes has already made contact with the board.

The Government requires church authorities to evidence a decisive shift to a culture of transparency and public accountability. In that regard, I have called for the publication by the National Board for Safeguarding Children of the audit of each diocese. It is in the church's interest and in the interest of ensuring child protection guidelines are in place that this be done. I welcome the call by the Archbishop of Dublin, Diarmuid Martin, for publication of all audits. We await the response from the board and the bishops to these calls. There may be a preference to publish the reports into several dioceses together.

This debate affords us an opportunity to acknowledge the people who are doing good work in the area of child protection. These include the practitioners in the professional and voluntary sectors, medical professionals, gardaí, youth workers, teachers and coaches throughout the State who already passionately employ best practice in child protection. They understand their duties and do not need legislation to keep children safe. It takes an entire community to protect children, as we have seen from recent cases. There is an onus on everybody who has contact with children to act; it is not simply a matter for front-line social workers or any one professional group. There is a responsibility attaching to a broad sector of the community and all of those who have contact with children in a variety of settings, including voluntary and statutory settings, faith groups and Departments and State agencies. We must have clarity and action across the board. Many of those who are getting it right when it comes to child protection are working within the Catholic Church. In particular, I acknowledge the great deal of positive work done in recent years in the area of child protection by committed lay volunteers.

It is easy to condemn previous generations for not shouting "stop" in the face of the horrors visited on children. However, we can only guess at the spiritual and cultural pressures which led to the deadly silence that pervaded during a century of abuse. That has now changed. Earlier today I attended the launch of a report setting out young people's own experience in care. This is another group from which we did not hear in the past, but we are now hearing directly about their experiences. The curtain has been pulled back. As we have seen in all of these reports, even when the information is in the public arena, we must continue to be vigilant.

The Taoiseach's speech last week ended the deadly silence on the issue of child abuse within the church. It was more than a condemnation; it was a call on the church to respond with compassion, demonstrate openness and exemplify best practice. The manner in which the church responds to that call will be its lasting legacy and an indication of how it sees itself being a part of our children's future. I thank Senators for the opportunity to speak on the report and look forward to their contributions. We have a major task before us to ensure children's voices are heard and that we put in place a strong and appropriate child protection system which applies to all sectors.