Child protection expert due to be named

The Government is about to announce the appointment of an expert to examine the Catholic Church's child protection policy.

Earlier this week, it emerged that the policy, Our Children, Our Church, was not being implemented in the North as it did not comply with the law there.

Church authorities are working with the Department of State for Health, social services and public safety in the North to modify the policy.

Brian Lenihan, who is Minister of Health with responsibility for children, told the Oireachtas committee on health yesterday that "a suitable individual with widespread experience" was being appointed in the coming days to evaluate the church's guidelines. This person would establish whether or not the policy complied with State guidelines.

Mr Lenihan said the document was "a step in the right direction" but he was not in a position to confirm that the guidelines were "totally satisfactory". That could only be done in a professional evaluation, he said.

Mr Lenihan met the Oireachtas committee yesterday to discuss the implementation of recommendations made by the Ferns report.

The report on abuse by Catholic priests in the southeast asked if the Health Service Executive (HSE) had enough powers to deal with third-party abuse. Mr Lenihan said his office was working with the Attorney General's office and the HSE on an "in-depth study" on the executive's powers.

"And this will be followed by legislative proposals if this is necessary," he added.

Mr Lenihan also told the committee that his office would be placing advertisements in newspapers this weekend seeking submissions on a review of compliance with national child protection guidelines by State bodies.

He said the health executive had received more than 12,500 complaints about child abuse and neglect between April 2004 and December 2005. One-third of these complaints had been confirmed when they were examined, he said.

The HSE was now working on providing a helpline as a single point of contact for child abuse issues, he added.

Mr Lenihan also told the committee he would soon be announcing an extension of child-safety vetting arrangements to the educational sector, beginning with new teachers starting work in the next school year.

The Minister also stressed his opposition to putting mandatory reporting on a legal footing. He said people were now more readily prepared to report concerns around child abuse.

"Enough damage has already been done to such an individual without them being concerned that the person they have entrusted with this information could be the subject of criminal proceedings," Mr Lenihan said.