John Halligan (Waterford, Independent)
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Question 294: To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality his views on whether powers of investigation into allegations of child sexual abuse against fathers should be removed from the remit of the Health Service Executive and placed with the Garda Síochána and dealt with as a criminal matter; if he will report on the statistics of these allegations which are subsequently found to be false; his plans to legislate for the removal of free legal aid assistance from the accuser where these allegations have been proven to be false and also provide for primary custody to be awarded to the party falsely accused of these heinous acts; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22784/12]

Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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The Deputy has raised a number of matters not all of which fall within my responsibility.

Under the Child Care Act 1991, responsibility for promoting the welfare of children lies with the Health Service Executive. Responsibility for the investigation of any alleged criminal offence is a matter for the Garda Síochána. In the context of the making of false allegations, it is an offence for a person to knowingly make a false report to the Gardaí concerning the commission of an offence (section 12, Criminal Law Act 1976). The offence of perjury addresses the giving of false evidence on oath. The perjured evidence must be material and the statement must have been made with knowledge or belief that it is not true.

It should be noted that under forthcoming legislation, it will be an offence for a person to delay reporting to the Gardaí a serious offence committed against a child. The recently published Criminal Justice (Withholding of Information on Offences Against Children and Vulnerable Persons) Bill 2012, requires a person who has information concerning the commission of an offence against a child to disclose, as soon as it is practicable, that information to a member of the Garda Síochána. Failure to do so will be an offence.

Under the provisions of the Courts Service Act 1998, management of the courts is the responsibility of the Courts Service. The Act provides that the Service is independent in the performance of its functions, which includes the provision of statistics. I have had enquiries made and the Courts Service has informed me that it does not compile statistics on allegations as such that are made in the course of any court proceedings. The Courts Service has advised that where an allegation arises in the course of a custody or access case, a court may direct the health authorities to undertake an investigation of the matter.

I wish to inform the Deputy that insofar as the Legal Aid Board and the issue of legal aid certificates are concerned, Regulation 9(3) of the Civil Legal Aid Regulations 1996 provides, inter alia, as follows:

Subject to the provisions of paragraph (5), the Board or a certifying committee may at any time terminate a certificate from such date as it considers appropriate when satisfied that it is justified and in particular may do so- (c) on being satisfied by the report of the legally aided person's solicitor that the certificate should be terminated, or (e) where it considers that the legally aided person is behaving unreasonably in connection with the conduct of the proceedings or that it is unreasonable in the particular circumstances of the case (including the cost of the proceedings) that the person should continue to receive legal aid..

While the Board can use these provisions to terminate legal services if it is clear that allegations have been made maliciously, it has no data in relation to the number of cases in which legal aid was terminated on the basis of false allegations being made. I have no plans at this time to amend civil legal aid legislation in the specific way outlined by the Deputy.