Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 2 February 2023
345. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the steps a person should take and who does not want to go to the police, who wants to divulge a historic child abuse case, that took place in a Dublin boys home in the 1970s; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5284/23]
View answerThe statutory bodies with primary responsibility for child welfare and protection are Tusla and An Garda Síochána. Both have distinct functions, powers and methods of working. 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. In doing so, it relies heavily on individuals reporting concerns about children, in accordance with Children First: National Guidance for the Protection and Welfare of Children 2017 and the Children First Act 2015.
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 mandated reporting of child protection concerns and improving child protection arrangements in organisations providing services to children.
Historic or retrospective abuse refers to abuse that an adult experienced which took place during their childhood. Information about abuse that happened in the past must also be sent to Tusla because the person against whom there is an allegation may pose a current risk to children.
Tusla has a specific ‘Retrospective Abuse Report Form’ for reporting in these cases, available on their website. This form is for use by adults wishing to disclose childhood abuse as well as by mandated persons under the Children First Act.
Tusla assesses all child welfare and protection concerns that are reported to it, including historic allegations of abuse. If there are ongoing child protection concerns, Tusla will take necessary actions to ensure that any child who may be at risk of harm is protected, including making a report to An Garda Síochána where Tusla believe an offence may have been committed against a child.
Apart from the Children First Act, a number of other policy and legislative improvements have been made to child protection standards in recent years. These include 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, both of which fall under the remit of the Minister for Justice. This latter Act requires that any person who has information about a serious offence against a child, which may result in charges or prosecution, must report this to An Garda Síochána.
Much of the Department of Justice’s work to extend supports for adult victims of sexual offences is being done through the implementation of Supporting a Victim's Journey, the plan to implement the recommendations of the O'Malley Review. Supporting a Victim's Journey is a detailed roadmap, which when implemented, will ensure we have a more victim-centred system that supports and empowers victims and gives them the confidence to engage with all services knowing they will be supported, informed and treated with respect and dignity at every point and by every person they come into contact with.
While noting that the person may not wish to go An Garda Síochána, it is important to note that Divisional Protective Service Units have also been rolled out across the country and are now available in every Garda division. This means that specially trained officers are available nationwide who will be responsible for engagement with, and interviewing of, vulnerable victims. This ensures that when vulnerable victims of crimes such as domestic abuse and sexual violence present to Gardaí, they are met with specialist professional and expert assistance.
