Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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201. To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the steps she will take either directly or in co-operation with other Departments to address the issues affecting children at risk; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [7393/19]

Katherine Zappone (Dublin South West, Independent)
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Children First promotes the protection of children from abuse and neglect, by setting out what persons and organisations need to do to keep children safe, and how to deal with concerns that a child may have been, is being, or is at risk of being abused or neglected. A Children First Inter-Departmental Implementation Group (CFIDIG) with membership from all Government Departments, the Health Service Executive, An Garda Síochána and the Child and Family Agency - Tusla, provides a forum for members to raise child welfare and protection issues of general concern or with a cross-departmental or cross-sectoral dimension.

The Children First Act 2015, which I fully commenced in December 2017, provides for a number of key child protection measures, including in particular:

- An obligation on defined categories of persons (mandated persons) to report child abuse, at or above a defined threshold, to Tusla;

- A requirement on providers of relevant services to children to carry out a risk assessment and develop a Child Safeguarding Statement outlining the policies and procedures in place to manage any risks identified

The Act also places the CFIDIG on a statutory footing and requires each Minister of the Government to prepare and publish a Sectoral Implementation Plan, setting out the programme of measures that are either in place or planned to ensure compliance with Children First. My Department’s Sectoral Implementation Plan and Child Safeguarding Statement are available on my Department’s website.

The legislation operates alongside the non-statutory obligations provided for in Children First: National Guidance for the Protection and Welfare of Children. The guidance sets out definitions of abuse, and signs for its recognition. It explains how reports about reasonable concerns of child abuse or neglect should be made by the general public and professionals to Tusla. It sets out what organisations need to do to keep children safe. It also describes the obligations under the Children First Act 2015 and who they attach to. These guidelines have been in place since 1999 and were fully revised and published in October 2017 to include reference to the provisions of the Act.

The Children First Act is part of suite of child protection legislation that also includes the National Vetting Bureau (Children and Vulnerable Persons) Acts 2012 to 2016; and the Criminal Justice (Withholding of Information on Offences against Children and Vulnerable Persons) Act 2012.