Child protection, welfare, and adoption

Eleven organisations (Tusla, Barnardos, Plan, CAI, ACAMI, AAI, SPMHS, SCNN, ARA, MIRRA and TUI) submitted recommendations relating to child protection and welfare. Barnardos recommended greater incorporation of needs assessments into policy making in order to ensure that services are tailored to individual needs. Tusla recommended the provision of greater support for collaboration between Tusla and external stakeholders - such as HIQA and An Garda Síochána - to improve the quality of reports received by Child Protection and Welfare services, and requested greater clarity regarding post-Brexit cross border working. Tusla recommended greater monitoring and oversight of Children First implementation plans from other sectors (no examples provided), and called for greater support in the implementation of the Child Protection and Welfare Strategy, including both legislative reform and a reform of the current courts system. Tusla also recommended joint working between DCEDIY, the courts, the Adoption Authority of Ireland and other key stakeholders in implementing the Adoption Amendment Act.

The TUI called for an increase in Tusla funding to address “attrition” in the social work workforce and reduce the number of children referred to protection and welfare services who are waiting to be allocated a social worker. TUI also recommended that the National Vetting Bureau is “sufficiently resourced”; adequate protection “is given to unaccompanied minors”; and proper procedures are put in place “so that accused persons are investigated in the first instance”. The TUI also requested clarity on when the TESS will transfer to the DES, and how reporting and consultative mechanisms will work after the transfer.

Barnardos and the CIB recommended the prioritisation of measures to tackle childhood domestic violence and abuse in the upcoming DCEDIY SoS, particularly in the context of increased risk of exposure due to Covid-19 pandemic restrictions. Barnardos highlighted the need for research and targeted policies to address the gap in collective understanding of children’s experiences of domestic violence. They also recommended that the successor to the current National Strategy on Domestic, Sexual and Gender-based Violence addresses the experiences and needs of children. AAI recommended that the upcoming SoS outlines specific actions to support the need for children to have a childhood free from alcohol harm. AAI also called for increased investment in prevention and early intervention services, information campaigns to raise awareness of parental problem alcohol use and its impact on children, and innovative, evidence-based treatment programmes. AAI also stressed the need to consult children in the design of relevant policies. In relation to “young carers”, CAI recommended addressing welfare issues specific to this vulnerable group, and called for their inclusion as a priority group within the upcoming SoS.

In terms of children in care and care leavers, Barnardos recommended adopting a proactive rather than reactive approach to implementing improvements in Tusla’s policies and practices, and suggested that Tusla’s services become more trauma-informed and evidence-based. This was

echoed by Public Member 8. ARA recommended that the Department (and all bodies under its aegis) ensure accurate and long-term recordkeeping of children in care, in accordance with statutory and ethical obligations on data protection and freedom of information. MIRRA reiterated this recommendation, and called for the Department “to review the access to birth certificates in Ireland” for adopted children. MIRRA also called for the creation of a long-term digital strategy, and the creation of an online resource for care leavers and adoptees to prepare them for the journey ahead, similar to the Family Connect site launched in the UK. MIRRA recommended drawing on independent expertise - such as from the National Archives - in cooperation with the Data Protection Commission, in order to reform the current information management system for both children in care and care leavers.

Plan, AAI, the IHF, and the TUI discussed child welfare in the context of the online environment. Plan called for the enactment of both the Harassment, Harmful Communications and Related Offences Bill 2017 and the Online Safety Media Regulation Bill 2019 in order to reduce the risk of online child abuse and harassment. Plan also recommended awareness-raising and education initiatives targeting online abuse and harassment, in order to a) inform children about how best to respond if they encounter abuse and harassment and b) inform perpetrators about the extensive negative effects of their behaviour. The TUI called for the DCEDIY to lead in encouraging all relevant Government Departments and agencies to provide resources to limit to spread of cyberbullying in schools and youth spaces. This would include provision of supports for parents.