Clare Daly (Dublin North, United Left)
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524. To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the reason cases of historic child abuse, alleged to have been carried out upon persons who were in the care of the Health Service Executive, are being investigated by the executive and not by the Child and Family Agency. [11181/15]

Clare Daly (Dublin North, United Left)
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528. To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the date upon which the Child and Family Agency took over the investigation of all historic cases of child abuse under the care of the Health Service Executive or other State institutions. [11180/15]

James Reilly (Dublin North, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 524 and 528 together.

With effect from 1 January 2014, statutory responsibility for the delivery of child welfare and protection services rests with the Child and Family Agency, which is the appropriate body to receive all reports of welfare and protection concerns relating to a child. Prior to this, the HSE had statutory responsibility for this service. These concerns can either relate to a child's welfare or where there is a concern of child abuse, that is, physical abuse, emotional abuse, sexual abuse or neglect, As the Deputy may be aware the respective roles of State agencies in the area of child protection are set out in Children First: National Guidance for the Protection and Welfare of Children. I am not aware of specific cases the Deputy may have in mind. I have asked the Agency to comment and I will revert to the Deputy at that time.

Reporting a child abuse concern should, whether it is ongoing or historical, be reported to the Child and Family Agency and An Garda Síochána, in line with the Children First Guidance. Under Section 3.6 of the Children First (2011) guidelines, when a retrospective disclosure of abuse is made, an assessment must be taken to ensure there is no current risk to any child that may be in contact with the alleged abuser. Should risk be identified, the information should be passed to the Agency immediately who will work with other agencies, including An Garda Síochána, for investigative purposes.

While child protection and welfare services of the HSE were transferred to the Child and Family Agency on 1 January 2014, other services for children and adolescents remain with providers such as the HSE, including disability services and the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS). As the Agency carries out its child protection functions, the onus remains on the service provider to ensure that adequate safeguards are in place and to examine its own role in respect of abuse disclosures. The HSE, as a service provider, could be expected to carry out investigations into its service provision, separate from those of the Agency or An Garda Síochána.