PRESS RELEASE

JANUARY 28^TH 2020

ONE IN FOUR WELCOMES THE PUBLICATION OF THE MINISTER FOR CHILDREN’S REPORT ON TUSLA’S MANAGEMENT  OF CHILD PROTECTION CONCERNS

One in Four welcomes the publication of the Report of the Expert Assurance Group (EAG) for the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs which reviews the implementation of the recommendations of a challenging 2018 HIQA review of the management of child protection matters in TUSLA.

The EAG Report recognises the progress that TUSLA has made in implementing changes that will deliver significant improvements in the way in which it manages concerns about children.  It also acknowledges the immense challenges social workers face in dealing with very complex and sensitive cases, and the on-going concern about staffing levels in the organisation.

Many children who are being sexually abused do not tell until they reach the safety of adulthood.  At One in Four we know that many sex offenders continue to abuse the next generation of children unless they are stopped.  The testimony of adult survivors is crucial in keeping children safe. 

The management of retrospective allegations by adult survivors poses a particular difficulty to social workers.  The EAG Report recognises that TUSLA does not have the legislative authority to investigate these allegations in the manner in which, for example, the Gardaí can.  They cannot compel individuals to participate in investigations or to have documentation produced.  Their investigations are also guided by a series of High Court judgements which uphold the rights of the accused person to a fair process.  This has resulted in the development of a new national policy, Child Abuse Substantiation Procedures (CASP) which is currently being rolled out.  CASP will ensure that there is consistency across the country in how these allegations are managed.

CEO Maeve Lewis says: “There are many valuable aspects to CASP which will help in safeguarding children.  However, we are very concerned that while the rights of the accused person are prominent in the policy, little attention has been paid to the rights of the adult complainant.  Their right to privacy and to information as to how their allegation will be managed are not addressed.  We would welcome consultation by TUSLA with the specialist sexual violence agencies in this regard”

Maeve Lewis continues: “The EAG Report recommends that the Garda Vetting Bureau, which has clear statutory underpinnings, may be the appropriate body to manage the outcome of retrospective allegations.  One in Four fully supports this position which we believe will keep all parties – children, adult survivors and alleged offenders - in these complex investigations safer.  We call on the next Minister for Children and the next Minister for Justice to work together to implement this recommendation immediately”