One of the leading child protection experts in Ireland has criticised the lack of resources being provided to the HSE.
Ian Elliott, chief executive of the Catholic Church’s child protection watchdog, the National Board for Safeguarding Children (NBSC), also drew attention to an ongoing lack of interagency co-operation between the gardai and HSE on the issue.
Speaking to the media this afternoon, after he and NBSC chairman John Morgan had addressed the Irish Bishops’ Conference as they continued their Spring meeting in Maynooth, Mr Elliott said he wished to draw attention to “the fact….that the HSE, being a primary child protection body along with the gardaí, is significantly under-resourced in this area.”
Born in Dublin and a graduate of Trinity College as well as the University of Ulster , Mr Elliott, a Presbyterian, spent most of his life in Northern Ireland . He was director there of the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children from June 2001.
In September 2005 he was seconded to the Department of Health, Social Services and Public Services as lead child protection adviser. The role included design and implementation of a major reform programme for child protection services there.
Headhunted by the Catholic Church, he was appointed chief executive to the NBSC in July 2007.
This afternoon he pointed out that “there would be, for example, as many child protection social workers employed in the North of Ireland as there would be in the Republic. When you take into account the difference which exists in relation to population that needs to be critically looked at. It’s a combination of a number of areas, not just legislation and policy but also resourcing. Yes I would be critical of that.”
He also pointed out that “in the North of Ireland there a joint operation protocol which exists between PSNI and Health and Social Services Trust which really ensures that they talk to each other and share info in relation to child protection when they arise. That I think is an area that could be improved here (Republic) without particular resource implications.”
There needed to be a greater commitment “to share information and ensure gardaí and HSE are informed and talk to each other.”
He continued that “one of the things we have picked up from a church point of view is that, on occasions, referrals have been made to the gardaí or have been made to the HSE and the information hasn’t been passed to each other.” As a result church guidelines were very clear, he said “you inform both and you do it verbally. Then you do it in writing and you evidence the fact that you have done it.”
He and Mr Morgan had spoken to the bishops for an hour and a quarter this morning, he said. “They “briefed them fully on work undertaken and also plans for work going forward.” This latter included plans for “an audit and review of the dioceses and religious congregations across the whole of the Church,” which is to start within weeks.
It is expected to take up to two years, he said. “’We’d previously given an indication to Governments in both jurisdictions and also to the bishops we thought it would take at least two years to complete and that’s what we are aiming for. With increased staffing I’m confident we’ll get most, if not all of it done within that time period,’’ he said.
He said the audits findings will be published “very definitely…as we go forward.,” He also wanted to emphasise that “if through the course of any audit we discover any matters that either have not been fully reported or appropriately dealt with from a safeguarding point of view we will immediately inform the State authorities in whatever jurisdiction involved and ensure the matter is dealt with immediately.”
At the conclusion of each individual audit they would “inform the bishop, religious leader with regard to the outcome and our set of recommendations, he said. “We’re in a position where we believe we’ve overcome all of the logistical, practical difficulties that existed, particularly in relation to data protection. Also importantly for staffing, we also reported to them (bishops) our staff team will be doubling in size…to eight in total...”
He was happy with current level of co-operation from the bishops and other church authorities, he said. “I think an indication of the current level of co-operation was the increased resources (made available) in these difficult times, times of falling incomes,” which amounts to “very, very close to a million a year.”
He agreed he had met some opposition when he took up his post with the NBSC in July 2007. “I had met with some opposition, some resistance but I also said that certainly as far as the hierarchy was concerned I didn’t have any difficulty or problem with any of the bishops now in post. The Catholic Church is an enormous organization with 4.2 million members, it’s extremely complex. It’s inevitable in an organization of that size and given the work we are involved in that you are going to meet some opposition. Some of that is in the public domain but I’m not going to name names.”
But, he pointed out, that “when we issued (2008) Safeguarding Children (child protection guidelines) we not only issued it to the church and asked for them to implement it we asked them to confirm that they would through a memorandum of understanding and all 186 different p arts of the church signed and gave that commitment to me that they would implement the guidelines.”
Mr Elliott also said the NBSC annual report for 2009 will be published next month.