John Lahart (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail)
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341. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the initiatives his Department is taking to help victims and survivors of childhood sexual abuse; the funding being provided for organisations that work in this area; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22350/22]

Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party)
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Tusla, the Child and Family Agency, has statutory responsibility for the care and protection of children and provides and/or funds a range of supports and services to victims of sexual abuse, including Domestic, Sexual & Gender Based Violence (DSGBV). In 2022, my Department has provided Tusla with an annual budget (current expenditure) of €881m, an effective increase of over €40m on its 2021 allocation, which will help the agency to continue to deliver these supports and meet growing demand for its services, including support services for those who have experienced sexual violence.

Tusla provides annual funding to 16 rape crisis centres nationwide. Services provided by these centres include specialist counselling for individuals seeking assistance in coming to terms with their experiences.

Tusla child protection social workers receive referrals of child sexual abuse and work with children, families and other professionals and agencies to make sure children are safe from harm. The “Child Abuse Substantiation Procedure” (CASP) is a revision of the 2014 Policy “Policy and Procedures for Responding to Allegations of Abuse and Neglect”. It is based on learnings that indicated the need to further enhance consistency of practice across Tusla. In addition, changes were also required to incorporate new legal judgements in this complex area of law and practice.

The CASP, which will be implemented on 27th June 2022, will assist social workers in achieving an optimum standard of child protection practice when carrying out substantiation assessments.  Furthermore, this procedure will allow Tusla to function within the correct parameters of legal obligations, fair procedures and information management.

Furthermore, my Department is leading on the development and implementation of Barnahus Ireland which is a significant initiative to help victims and survivors of childhood sexual abuse. Barnahus is a child-friendly, interdisciplinary and multiagency model of service that brings child protection, policing, medical, therapeutic and forensic services together, under one roof, to provide services for children who experience sexual abuse and their families.

My Department has been awarded financial and technical support from the EU and the Council of Europe, to help expand the Barnahus model in Ireland. In addition to the Barnahus West in Galway, which is currently in operation, two further locations in the East and South will provide national coverage and access for victims and families to the service. At present, funding in the region of €1.38m is available to support the implementation of the Barnahus model of service delivery in Ireland.

John Lahart (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail)
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342. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth if he will be strengthening laws against childhood sexual abuse; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22351/22]

Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party)
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Formulating laws against childhood sexual abuse is a matter for my colleague the Minister for Justice.

The Children First Act 2015, which was fully commenced in December 2017, provides for a number of key child protection measures, including raising awareness of child abuse and neglect, providing for reporting and management of child protection concerns and improving child protection arrangements in organisations providing services to children.

The Act operates side-by-side with the non-statutory obligations provided for in Children First: National Guidance for the Protection and Welfare of Children. The Children First Guidance, which was fully revised in October 2017 to include reference to the provisions of the Act, is intended to assist members of the public, professionals, employees or volunteers in identifying and reporting concerns about child abuse and neglect to Tusla, the Child and Family Agency. It 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.

Tusla has a statutory duty under the Child Care Act 1991 to promote the welfare of children who are not receiving adequate care and protection. Tusla assesses all child welfare and protection concerns that are reported to it and takes appropriate actions, including referrals to appropriate services and agencies, dependant on assessment outcomes. If Tusla suspects that a crime has been committed and a child has been wilfully neglected or physically or sexually abused, it will formally notify An Garda Síochánawithout delay.