Martin Ferris (Kerry North-West Limerick, Sinn Fein)
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12. To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs her reaction to and the steps that will be taken to address both the historic failures and the contemporary deficiencies highlighted in the recently published reviews of a number of Catholic Dioceses undertaken by the National Board for Safeguarding Children in the Catholic Church in Ireland; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [21775/13]

Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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The recent publication of a further seven reviews, conducted by the National Board for Safeguarding Children in the Catholic Church into safeguarding practices at both diocesan and Religious Congregation level, is a further important step in presenting a national picture of how both are engaging with the issue of child protection, and the regimes in place to ensure that proper safeguarding arrangements are being applied and, more importantly, complied with.

The review process is an important element within an overall programme of work which needs to be completed in order to provide the necessary assurances to the public, and to the statutory authorities, that appropriate safeguarding and reporting measures are in place and operating well across the Catholic Church.

Sixteen diocesan reviews have now been published, together with four reviews of Religious Congregations. I look forward to the publication of all remaining reviews and expect that the Church authorities will engage with the Safeguarding Board in order to complete the national review process.

The recently-published reviews reveal evidence of good and improved practice in the development of better safeguarding structures and processes. This is to be welcomed. Positive developments are shown in terms of adherence to the standards set out by the Safeguarding Board. There is also evidence of a very constructive engagement with diocesan Safeguarding Committees. It is also encouraging that the Board reported that all the findings of the reviews have been fully accepted and that the recommendations are already being implemented. However, there is no room for complacency, and it is imperative that the standards are fully implemented across the Church and that this continues to be validated by the Safeguarding Board.

From the perspective of historic allegations, the diocese of Clogher came in for particular criticism on this occasion, having exhibited very poor practice when it came to responding to allegations of abuse. In response to publication of that diocesan review, the Church authorities acknowledged that much more could have been done to intervene to ensure the safety of children was held paramount.

The review reports were furnished by the Safeguarding Board to the HSE and An Garda Síochána. I will be consulting with Mr. Gordon Jeyes, CEO-designate of the new Child and Family Agency, who works closely with the Safeguarding Board and An Garda Síochána, on the findings of the reviews and on the ongoing collaborative work being done to promote improved safeguarding practices across the Catholic Church.

I would also like to highlight the enormous contribution which Mr. Ian Elliot, Chief Executive of the Safeguarding Board has made to the development of more effective and transparent child protection practices in the Catholic Church. Mr. Elliot has overseen an objective and consistent methodology for all reviews and I look forward to this work being continued to the same standard by his successor.