Child protection bodies form united front
Eight child protection organisations today united to launch a campaign to insist that the Government implement key policy changes promised after the publication of the Ryan report into abuse in Church-run institutions.
The campaign - entitled Saving Childhood Ryan - was launched on the first anniversary of the report's publication.
The organisations - Barnardos, CARI, the Children’s Rights Alliance, the Dublin Rape Crisis Centre, the ISPCC, the Irish Association of Young People in Care, One in Four and Rape Crisis Network Ireland - are calling for key legislation and policy change commitments to be implemented.
These include placing the Children First child protection guidelines on a statutory footing; introducing legislation for the right of children’s voices to be heard in judicial proceedings affecting them; the statutory provision for aftercare and numerous developments in the provision of services for children in the care of the State.
“The Ryan Report exposed a horrific history of systemic and colluded abuse of the most vulnerable children living in Ireland," said Fergus Finlay, Barnardos’ CEO.
"The report lifted the lid on Ireland’s shameful past where many people who could have done something to stop those who abused and harmed these vulnerable children did not act to prevent it.
"In the past year many promises have been made both to survivors of that abuse and children in Ireland, but have we delivered on them? To date progress has been slow and no lasting legislative or policy change has yet been achieved.
"Some progress has been made, but more is needed."
"We all know what needs to be done to remedy the gaps in our child protection and care systems," said Children’s Rights Alliance Chief Executive Jillian van Turnhout.
"Important promises have been made to remedy these gaps, and the Government and the arms of the State now have a non-negotiable duty to live up to these promises. Children in Ireland deserve better. It is time that we as a society demanded better.”
Earlier the Tánaiste insisted that progress is being made in hiring more child protection social workers.
One of the promises in the wake of the Ryan report was the State would hire an additional 230 social workers - but only a fifth of them have been hired.
It has also emerged that survivors of abuse can be waiting up to eight months for counselling services.
Mary Coughlan today told the Dáil that most of the new child social workers will be in place by the end of this year.
"The HSE Service Plan for this year undertakes to recruit an additional 200 social workers for child protection services," she said.
Fifty of those would be hired by the end of the second quarter, a further 75 in the third quarter and the final 75 in the fourth quarter, she said.
"I understand from the HSE that the first candidates have been interviewed," she added.
