Jillian van Turnhout (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister and warmly welcome the arrival of the Bill in the Seanad. I actively participated in the pre-legislative scrutiny of the Bill at the Joint Committee on Health and Children which produced a report on the matter in July 2012. I thank all of the organisations and individuals that participated in the pre-legislative scrutiny process and provided expert advice for the joint committee. I also thank the Children's Rights Alliance, the Irish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children, Barnardos and Empowering People in Care, EPIC, for giving me their updated views on the legislation which has changed and improved significantly as it has progressed through the Houses. I hope the Seanad can make some additional changes to further ensure the Bill will achieve its stated aim.

Legislation to place child welfare and protection on a statutory footing is urgently needed and long overdue and it is essential, to solidify our good intentions, that we get it right. Before I consider the Bill, I will focus briefly on the importance of resourcing the Child and Family Agency which continues to be overstretched as a result of insufficient budget allocations. The implementation of this legislation will most certainly result in an additional workload for the agency. It is essential that financial and personnel resources are made available to ensure implementation of national policies on the ground. It is feared that the system will be overwhelmed when the Bill becomes law. The more pressing fear is that there are overwhelming numbers of children at risk of harm and abuse. This legislation must shine a bright spotlight and ensure there will be no hiding place for vile abusers. It is our job to ensure the system works, come hell or high water. I am also concerned about the preparedness of other State agencies, which is imperative to the success of Children First, for example, the Department of Education and Skills and the HSE to name probably the two most prominent that interact with children. There is much to welcome in this Bill but given the time constraints on us I will outline the concerns I need to be further addressed. However, the Minister should take it that I welcome most of the provisions.

I agree with the Council of Europe and echo its call for a culture of zero tolerance of violence towards children. It is for this reason that I have advised successive Ministers for Children and Youth Affairs of my intention to table an amendment to the Bill to repeal the defence of reasonable chastisement. I look forward to formally tabling this amendment, which I sent to the Minister's office last year, when we take Committee Stage.

The Minister is aware of my disappointment that children are not included in the Gender Recognition Act. Last Wednesday, the Minister of State, Deputy Humphreys, stood where the Minister now stands and, in response to my speech, stated that this was now an issue for the Minister's Department. He said, "I would be quite happy for the Minister, Deputy Reilly, to lead on this because he is the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, and that Department has a wider remit than the Department of Social Protection on this issue". I therefore ask the Minister to include within the Children First Bill a provision to amend the Gender Recognition Act so that the exemption process for 16 to 18 year olds is depathologised in a manner similar to the application process for adults and to include the creation of a process for interim gender recognition certificate for those under 16 so that their rights are fully realised in that process.

In the committee hearings, the majority of organisations and experts said that emotional abuse needs to be included in the definition of welfare. Emotional abuse is a form of neglect and should be explicitly stated as such. We need to broaden our definitions to include emotional abuse.

I have a specific issue about Schedule 3. I will be seeking to amend the current term "child pornography" and replace it with a more apt and reflective description, namely "child sexual abuse material". I know this is related to another Bill but we need to take these steps. According to Interpol:

A sexual image of a child is "abuse" or "exploitation" and should never be described as "pornography". Pornography is the term used for adults engaging in consensual sexual acts distributed (mostly) legally to the general public for their sexual pleasure. Child abuse images are not.

I have been saying this since first tabling a motion on blocking child abuse material on the Internet in February 2012. Later, in my report, Online Child Abuse Material - Effective Strategies to Tackle Online Child Abuse Material, in September 2013, I note that a child abuse image is a crime scene. It is a digital record of sexual abuse being perpetrated against a real child in the real world. I will be seeking to have child pornography in this Bill and across our Statute Book amended to say "child sexual abuse material" to better reflect the seriousness of the offence.

Section 11 deals with risk assessment and child safeguarding statements. Subsection (5) suggests the agency can request a copy of the relevant service provider's child safeguarding statement. This enables the agency to monitor compliance, which is welcome. However, it does not specify how quickly the this is to be furnished to the agency. We need to provide for specific time limits and tighten up this issue. I am aware the Minister may issue regulations and guidance for the purpose of providing practical guidance on how to adhere to the Bill but in the absence of a firm commitment that this will be done, how will organisations and mandated people be fully aware of their new duties, such as drafting the child safeguarding statement? Section 11(5) also specifies that the child safeguarding statement should be made available to the public on request. Part 6 goes on to say that it should be displayed in a prominent place. Why are we saying "on request"? Surely we want all organisations to be open and transparent about the protection of children. We should be asking for statements to be publicly available, including online, as a matter of course.

This brings me to section 13(5). The section deals with the register of non-compliance which is only available to the public for inspection at reasonable times. If I am a mother or father in Kerry, am I to come to Dublin to try to inspect this register at the agency? Surely this should also be online. One of the best incentives for compliance would be a public list, on the agency website, of the organisations which are non-compliant. We need to change the culture of services for children in Ireland to be one of openness and transparency.

On section 12(8), a right of appeal is critical, but should the avenue of appeal not be proportionate and remain within the agency? I am fearful that if it goes to the District Court, it could be tied up for months if not years. I do not believe anyone wishes safeguarding children to be caught up in court delays. Can we re-examine that matter?

I remain concerned that childminders are still exempt from the provisions of the Bill. Only those providing an early years service under the meaning of the Child Care Act 1991 are included, namely, those who are looking after four children or more. This is a serious omission given the number of children placed in the care of childminders. We can find a way to define it. Childminders should have been included in the National Vetting Bureau (Children and Vulnerable Persons) Act 2012. The childminders organisation, Childminding Ireland, came to me. It supports my stance. Organisations such as Barnardos are saying we need to ensure we bring childminders into the net.

I welcome the Bill but I will bring forward amendments on the points I have raised. I have raised them specifically here today to allow the Minister to consider them. I will give further consideration to the Bill during the recess and look forward to working with the Minister to ensure the Bill achieves its stated aim. I know that is what the Minister wishes too.