Only a minority of people trust doctors, social workers and psychologists to take swift action when they find out a child is being abused, according to an IMS poll. It was carried out in December for the Irish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children which yesterday relaunched its campaign for mandatory reporting of child abuse, in conjunction with the Dublin Rape Crisis Centre.
Health boards failed to follow up many cases of suspected child abuse which the Dublin Rape Crisis Centre reported to them, its director, Ms Olive Braiden, said.
Social workers later rejected yesterday's call for mandatory reporting saying it would worsen the situation of children.
In the poll, just under 1,400 people were asked if professionals could be relied upon to act swiftly and effectively in reporting child abuse, professionals being social workers, psychologists and doctors. Only 44 per cent said professionals could be relied upon, 36 per cent said they could not and 21 per cent did not know or had no opinion.
Asked if all appropriate professionals should be obliged to report child abuse to health boards and the gardai, 91 per cent said they should. The ISPCC director, Mr Cian O Tighearnaigh, said the figures meant the number of people opposed to mandatory reporting had become very small.
The ISPCC, Dublin Rape Crisis Centre and Barnardo's would campaign strongly on the issue, he said. This would include an outdoor advertising campaign and a "robust" campaign in the Limerick East and Dublin North by-elections. All TDs would be visited at their clinics by supporters of mandatory reporting.
Ms Braiden said 60 per cent of clients at the Dublin Rape Crisis Centre were abused as children. "Had mandatory reporting existed, these figures would have been much lower."
The centre passed on clients' concerns to health boards where the clients feared that children were at risk from the person who had abused them. "In some cases there's follow-up," she said, but "in many cases nothing is done and we don't get a reason".
The Irish Association of Social Workers last night rejected Mr O'Tighearnaigh's views. It said there were already waiting lists for services for abused children and vulnerable families. Developing these and other services would provide a far more effective way of protecting children than introducing mandatory reporting.
The IASW supported the decision by Minister of State for Health, Mr Frank Fahey, to drop plans for mandatory reporting. the overwhelming majority of the 200 organisations which made submissions to the previous Government had concluded that mandatory reporting was not the most effective way to protect vulnerable and abused children, it said.