Forum on reporting child abuse planned

A SPECIAL Forum is to be set up by the Department of Health to hear representations from relevant parties on mandatory reporting of child abuse.

This was announced by the chairman of the Joint Oireachtas Committee on the Family, Mr Paul McGrath TD, at its meeting yesterday.

He also said that 150 submissions on the issue had been received since Putting Children First A Discussion Document on Mandatory Reporting was launched by the Minister of State for Health, Mr Austin Currie, on February 29th last.

Though the deadline for the receipt of such submissions was May 31st, Mr McGrath said it was anticipated a number of others will be received in coming weeks.

Mr McGrath remarked that the submissions made "a very strong case for both sides". He also felt the forum "would, perhaps, take away from our discussion here", and suggested that perhaps the committee itself might make its own submission to that forum.

It was later unanimously agreed that a synopsis of yesterday's proceedings should be submitted to the forum.

All attending the meeting supported mandatory reporting, with some qualifications. The Fianna Fail spokeswoman on Health, Ms Maire Geoghegan Quinn, said it was no secret she supported mandatory reporting "very strongly". She believes that "child abuse is bred in a culture of secrecy".

Ms Frances Fitzgerald (FG) had been "very struck" that every relevant report on the matter had recommended mandatory reporting in some form. Mr Eamon Walsh (Lab), worried about the implications of mandatory reporting for the numbers of adults who would continue to be involved in Coordinating children's activities after its introduction, while Ms Mary Coughlan (FF) said she had spoken to a lot of professionals on the matter, and many were against mandatory reporting. They had very, very valid concerns", she felt.

Mr McGrath pointed to the constitutional difficulties presented in the drafting of legislation on the matter, while accommodating the primacy of the family (Article 41.1) and the primacy of the child's welfare (Article 42.5). Mr Seamus Hughes (FF) was concerned about differing views as to what constituted abuse, and felt it "very important" there should be no retrospective application of any such legislation.

Senator Mary Kelly (Lab) believed that child neglect could be very difficult to define.