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Ireland - Consideration of reports submitted by States parties under article 44 of the Convention: Combined third and fourth periodic reports of Ireland due in 2009 [2015] UNCRCSPR 3; CRC/C/IRL/3-4 (26 January 2015)
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United Nations
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CRC/C/IRL/3-4
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Convention on the Rights of the Child
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Distr.: General 26 January 2015
Original: English
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Committee on the Rights of the Child
Consideration of reports submitted by States parties under
article 44 of the Convention
Combined third and fourth periodic reports of Ireland
due in
2009
Ireland[*]
[**]
[Date received: 13 August 2013]
Contents
Paragraphs Page
Acronyms used 5
List of tables 7
Minister’s foreword 1–4 8
Acknowledgements 5 8
Introduction 6–196 8
I. General measures of implementation 197–264 37
A. Measures taken to harmonise national law and policy with
the
provisions of the Convention and Optional Protocols 198–213 37
B. Steps taken to adopt and implement a comprehensive
National
Children’s Strategy within the framework of the
Convention 214–217 42
C. Coordination of the implementation of the Convention and
Optional
Protocols 218–226 43
D. Budgetary allocation for the implementation of the Convention
and
Optional Protocols 227–228 45
E. International assistance and development aid related to the
Convention 229–239 45
F. National human rights institutions 240–245 47
G. Disseminating information on the Convention (children and
adults) 246–255 49
H. Dissemination of State reports and concluding observations of
the
Committee to the public, civil society, business
organisations,
labour unions, religious organisations and
others 256 51
I. Plans to disseminate the current State report and
concluding
observations of the Committee to the public 257 51
J. Cooperation with civil society organisations (including NGOs
and
children’s and youth groups) 258–264 51
II. Definition of the child 265–267 52
Minimum legal age definitions 265–267 52
III. General principles 268–323 54
A. Non-discrimination 268–277 54
B. Best interests of the child 278–292 57
C. Right to life, survival and development 293–308 59
D. Respect for the views of the child 309–323 62
IV. Civil rights and freedoms 324–371 66
A. Birth registration, name and nationality 324–325 66
B. Preservation of identity 326 67
C. Freedom of expression, and the right to seek, receive and
impart
information 327–329 67
D. Freedom of thought, consciousness and religion 330–334 68
E. Freedom of association and peaceful assembly 335 69
F. Protection of privacy and protection of the image 336–339 69
G. Access to information from a diversity of sources and
protection
from material harmful to children’s
well-being 340–347 69
H. The right not to be subjected to torture or other cruel, inhuman
or
degrading treatment or punishment, including corporal
punishment 348–357 71
I. Measures to promote physical and psychological recovery
and
reintegration of child victims 358–371 73
V. Family environment and alternative care 372–449 76
A. Family environment and parental guidance in a manner
consistent
with the evolving capacities of the child 372–376 76
B. Parents’ common responsibilities and alternative care,
assistance
to parents and the provision of childcare
services 377–387 77
C. Separation from parents 388–389 78
D. Family reunification 390–392 79
E. Recovery of maintenance 393–394 79
F. Children deprived of a family environment 395–427 80
G. Periodic review of placement 428–435 86
H. Adoption, national and intercountry 436–440 87
I. Illicit transfer and non-return 441–447 88
J. Abuse and neglect, including physical and psychological
recovery
and social integration 448–449 89
VI. Disability, basic health and welfare 450–566 90
A. Children with disabilities 450–464 90
B. Traveller health 465–469 92
C. Survival and development 470–477 93
D. Health and health services, particularly primary
care 478–490 95
E. Efforts to address the most prevalent health challenges and promote
the
physical and mental health and well-being of children, and to prevent
and deal with communicable and non-communicable
diseases 491–511 97
F. Reproductive health rights of adolescents and measures to
promote
a healthy lifestyle 512–515 101
G. Measures to prohibit and eliminate all forms of harmful
traditional
practices 516 102
H. Measures to protect children from substance abuse 517–528 103
I. Measures to ensure the protection of children with incarcerated
parents
and children living in prison with their
mothers 529–531 104
J. Social security and childcare services and
facilities 532–539 105
K. Standard of living and measures, including material assistance
and
support programmes with regard to nutrition, clothing and
housing,
to ensure mental, spiritual, moral and social development,
and reduce poverty and inequality 540–566 107
VII. Education, leisure and cultural activities 567–659 111
A. Right to education 567 111
B. Aims of education 568–618 111
C. Cultural rights of children belonging to indigenous and minority
groups 619–622 120
D. Education in human rights and civic education 623–625 121
E. Rest, play, leisure, recreation, and cultural and artistic
activities 626–659 122
VIII. Special protection measures 660–727 130
A. Children outside their country of origin seeking refugee
protection,
unaccompanied minors, internally displaced children, migrant
children
and children affected by migration 661–668 130
B. Children in situations of armed conflict, including physical
and
psychological recovery and social integration 669–674 131
C. Children in situations of exploitation, including physical
and
psychological recovery and social integration 675–697 132
D. Children in street situations 698 134
E. Children in conflict with the law, victims and
witnesses 699–726 135
F. Children belonging to a minority or indigenous group 727 139
Acronyms
AAI Adoption Authority of Ireland
AHTU Anti-Human Trafficking Unit
ASAI Advertising Standards Authority of Ireland
CAAB Children Acts Advisory Board
CCC City and County Childcare Committee
CCS Community Childcare
CDB City and County Development Board
CES Centre for Effective Services
CETS Subvention Childcare Education and Training Support
CFA Child and Family Agency
CIS Crisis Intervention Service
CRA Children’s Rights Alliance
CSC Children’s Services Committee
CSO Central Statistics Office
CSPE Civics, Social and Political Education
CYPF Children and Young People’s Forum
DCYA Department of Children and Youth Affairs
DES Department of Education and Skills
DoH Department of Health
DSP Department of Social Protection
DVSAIU Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Investigation Unit
ECCE Early Childhood Care and Education
EPSEN Education for Persons with Special Educational Needs Act 2004
EWO Education Welfare Officer
EU European Union
FSA Family Support Agency
FSAI Food Safety Authority of Ireland
GAL Guardian ad Litem
GNIB Garda National Immigration Bureau
GRIO Garda Racial and Intercultural Office
GYDP Garda Youth Diversion Projects
HBSC Health Behaviours of School-Age Children
HIQA Health Information and Quality Authority
HRC Human Rights Commission
HSE Health Service Executive
ICDRG Independent Child Deaths Review Group
INIS Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service
INTO Irish National Teachers Organisation
ISC Irish Sports Council
IYJS Irish Youth Justice Service
JCCAC Joint Committee on the Constitutional Amendment on Children
LSP Local Sports Partnership
MTFC Multidimensional Treatment Foster Care
NAPR National Action Plan Against Racism
NCAC National Children’s Advisory Council
NCCA National Council for Curriculum and Assessment
NCCRI National Consultative Committee on Racism and Interculturalism
NCIP National Childcare Investment Programme
NCSE National Council for Special Education
NEPS National Educational Psychology Service
NEWB National Educational Welfare Board
NIO National Immunisation Office
NOSP National Office for Suicide Prevention
OCO Ombudsman for Children’s Office
OIS Office for Internet Safety
OMCYA Office of the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs
RIA Refugee Integration Agency
SAGO Special Action Group on Obesity
SPHE Social, Personal and Health Education
SSI Social Services Inspectorate
VEC Vocational Education Committee
WHA World Health Assembly
WTE whole-time equivalent
YPP Young Persons Probation
List of tables
Page
Table 1: Primary reason for admission to care, by care status
(2011) 32
Table 2: Resource allocations made to the DCYA, 2011-2012 45
Table 3: Consultations with children and subsequent publications 49
Table 4: Definition of “the child” and minimum legal age
provisions 52
Table 5: Number of applications for asylum by unaccompanied
minors
seeking asylum, 2006-2011 79
Table 6: Trend in number of children in care, 2007-2011 81
Table 7: Children in care by type of placement, April 2012 81
Table 8: Number of children abducted from and to Ireland
(new
applications), 2006-2010 89
Table 9: Maximum age limit for payment of One-Parent Family
Payment,
2013-2015 106
Table 10: Number of whole-time equivalent language support teachers
at
primary and post-primary levels, 2006-2011 118
Minister’s foreword
- The
vision of the Irish Government is that growing up in Ireland means that you have
the best start in life compared to anywhere in
the world.
- With
the first dedicated Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, the Irish
Government has committed to achieving significant improvements
in relation to
children and young people. These include:
- The holding of a
referendum in relation to the rights of children under the Constitution;
- The
establishment of a Child and Family Agency on a statutory basis in order to
fundamentally reform the delivery of child protection
services and remove
responsibility for these from the Health Service Executive (HSE);
- Implementing the
recommendations of the Ryan Report, including putting the Children First:
National Guidance on a statutory footing and legislating for the use of
‘soft’ information;
- Maintaining the
free preschool year and improving its quality as resources allow;
- Enacting
legislation to consolidate and reform the law on adoption;
- Investing in a
targeted early childhood education programme for disadvantaged children,
building on existing targeted preschool supports
for families most in need of
assistance;
- Ending the
practice of sending children to St. Patrick’s Institution.
- It
is in this context that I introduce this report by the Government to the
Committee on the Rights of the Child. I look forward to
continuing to work with
the Committee and the various organisations in Ireland which I know share our
ambitions for our children.
In particular, I look forward to meeting the
Committee at an early date to discuss the areas in which progress has already
been achieved
and the future progress which this Government is committed to
achieving.
- I
wish the Committee every success in its
work.
Acknowledgements
- The
Department of Children and Youth Affairs would like to sincerely thank the staff
of the many government departments and agencies
who contributed to the
preparation of this report. In addition, the input and cooperation received from
the non-governmental organisations
is greatly
appreciated.
Introduction
Background to the current report
- Ireland’s
consolidated third and fourth reports to the Committee on the Rights of the
Child on the implementation of the Convention
on the Rights of the Child
provides an update on Ireland’s second report, published by the National
Children’s Office
(NCO) in 2005. In doing so, it highlights the progress
made over the past six years (2006-2011) and the significant changes in policies
and provision aimed at enhancing our understanding of children’s lives and
effecting positive change in their experiences.
- Key
to the progress achieved since the submission of the last report has been the
ongoing implementation of Ireland’s National Children’s
Strategy: Our Children – Their Lives, published in 2000. Rooted
in the UN Convention, this cross-governmental strategy has resulted in a number
of consultative structures
and exercises through which the voices of Irish
children may be heard on key issues that affect them, as well as a number of
significant
and ongoing research initiatives investigating the lives of
children. As evidenced in the main body of this report, this increasing
awareness of a need to listen to children and provide opportunities for their
views to be heard has resulted in a number of important
changes. Building on the
experience of the National Children’s Strategy, the Department of Children
and Youth Affairs (DCYA)
is currently in the process of developing a new
National Children and Young People’s Policy Framework.
- Ireland’s
commitment to improving children’s lives and strengthening their rights is
evident in the creation of the Department
of Children and Youth Affairs in June
2011, with full Cabinet status. It is also evident in the Constitutional
Referendum regarding
children’s rights that was held on 10 November 2012.
The mission of the Department of Children and Youth Affairs is “to
lead
the effort to improve the outcomes for children and young people in
Ireland”. The responsibilities of the Department encompass
a wide range of
policy and service activity, both direct and indirect, for children and young
people in Ireland. It has a complex
mandate, comprised of a number of separate,
but interrelated strands:
- The direct
provision of a range of universal and targeted services;
- Ensuring
high-quality arrangements are in place for focused interventions dealing with
child welfare and protection, family support,
adoption, school attendance and
reducing youth crime;
- The
harmonisation of policy and provision across Government with a wide range of
stakeholders to improve outcomes for children, young
people and
families.
- This
report covers the six years between 2006 and 2011. In some instances, data from
2012 are used for clarity. In order to contextualise
developments made during
these six years and proposals for the future, it is necessary to outline some
wider recent trends and developments
relevant to children’s lives in
Ireland.
The economy
- Following
strong growth in the 1990s, the Irish economy, from 2000 onwards, began to lose
competitiveness, resulting in a shifting
of growth away from exports towards
more unstable domestic demand sources such as construction. The resulting
construction boom led
to the accumulation of imbalances within the Irish
economy, which left it highly exposed to the Great Recession – the rapid
global downturn of 2008 and 2009.
- A
loss of competitiveness domestically, compounded by weakness in key trading
partners and an appreciation of the euro during the
turbulence, had a
detrimental impact on Ireland’s exporting sectors. Exports fell by 7.3%
between Q4 2007 and Q3 2009, while
housing output, which peaked at over 90,000
houses in 2006, fell sharply as the demand for housing waned. A dramatic fall in
consumer
confidence resulted in an unprecedented decline in personal
consumption. Against this backdrop, real GDP recorded annual contractions
in
2008, 2009 and 2010, resulting in a peak-to-trough decline of 10.7% (Q4 2007 to
Q4 2009), before returning to growth in 2011 –
growing by 1.4% in the
year. As is typical in a small open economy, the initial recovery was driven by
strong export performance,
resulting from a rapid improvement in Ireland’s
competitiveness. Preliminary figures from the Central Statistics Office (CSO)
show that Ireland achieved a second successive year of growth in 2012, with real
GDP growing by 0.9% in the year. The Department
of Finance is forecasting a
continuation of growth into this year, with the Department’s most recent
forecasts projecting a
rate of 1.5% for 2013.
- In
common with many European States, Ireland is attempting to address the economic
crisis with a period of fiscal rectitude as outlined
in the National Recovery
Plan. Unfortunately, this has resulted in reductions in expenditure across many
areas of the public sector.
- Unemployment
has increased considerably over the past years, from 4.4% in early 2006 to 14.8%
in the third quarter of 2012, with long-term
unemployment increasing from 1.3%
to 8.9% over the same period.
Demographic trends
- The
population of Ireland has grown substantially over the last decade, with the
total figure increasing by approximately 664,000
(17%) between 2002 and 2011.
During the same period, the number of children aged less than 18 years grew from
1,013,031 to 1,148,687,
an increase of approximately 13.4%. Although the
proportion of the Irish population aged under 18 fell dramatically between 1981
(36.2%) and 2002 (25.9%), it has since remained stable, and by 2011, children
represented 25% of the total population. The youth
dependency ratio (the
proportion of those aged from birth to 14 years to the total working-age
population) was 31.9% in 2011, up
from 29.7% in 2006.
- According
to the CSO analysis Women and Men in Ireland 2011 (CSO, 2012a), Irish women have
the highest Total Period Fertility Rate
in the European Union (EU) at 2.07, up
from 1.9 in 2006. The number of births in Ireland has also increased over the
past decade
by 29%, rising from 57,854 in 2001 to 74,650 in 2011.
- The
population of Ireland is ageing. According to the CSO publication Older and
Younger (CSO, 2012b), the number of individuals aged 65 years and over rose
from 467,926 in 2006 to 535,393 in 2011, an increase of 14.4%.
Older people now
comprise 11.7% of the population, compared to 11% in 2006. The old dependency
rate in 2011 was 17.4%, compared to
16.1% in 2006.
- The
population structure of Ireland has also been affected in recent years by a
reversal in migration trends from a position of positive
to negative net
migration. In 2006, net migration stood at 71,800 persons, but by 2011 this had
changed to minus 34,400 persons.
CSO estimates for 2012 indicate that the
working age population (those aged 1565 years) fell by 36,600 due to negative
net migration.
- These
demographic trends will place increasing demands on public supports and
services.
Family size and structure
- In
2011, as in 2006, the great majority of children resided with both parents. The
overall proportion of children residing either
with two parents or in a
lone-parent household has remained relatively stable, with approximately 81%
residing with both parents
and 18.3% residing in lone-parent households. Despite
this, there have been notable changes among the various age groups. The
proportion
of preschool children aged 4 years and under living with a lone
parent has decreased from 16.8% in 2006 to 15.4% in 2012.
- The
number of reconstituted families identified in Census 2011 was 27,033, an
increase of 55% since 2006. In 2011, reconstituted families
represented 2.3% of
all family units. 72% of these reconstituted families were husbands and wives
and children, while a further 20%
were cohabiting couples and children. The
remaining 7% of cases were lone-parent families, of which 81% were headed by
females. In
2011, there were 4,042 same-sex couples living together –
2,321 male couples and 1,721 female couples. 230 were same-sex couples
with
children, with the vast majority of these being female couples. Most same-sex
couples were cohabiting (3,876), but 166 indicated
that they were married
couples. Since same-sex civil unions had only recently been introduced in
Ireland at the time of the Census,
it is likely that most of these were married
abroad. The figures refer to children of all ages and are not restricted to
children
under the age of 18.[1]
- The
great majority of these lone-parent households are headed by women. In 2006,
183,744 children were living in lone-parent households.
By 2011, this had risen
by approximately 10%, to 202,444.
- As
lone-parent households are at a particular risk of poverty, these increasing
numbers have implications for the range of policy
supports and provisions
required to ensure that the children in such households are supported in
appropriate ways.
Emerging issues
- A
number of new issues have come to the fore with regard to children’s lives
in Ireland. As a result of the economic downturn,
child poverty is now among
these, with both the “at risk of poverty” rate and the
“material deprivation”
rate increasing for households with children.
Other emergent issues further detailed in this report include literacy and
numeracy,
childhood obesity, alcohol misuse, child trafficking, and increasing
pluralism and multiculturalism. In 2011, the Department of Education
and Skills
launched Literacy and Numeracy for Learning and Life: The National Strategy to
Improve Literacy and Numeracy among Children
and Young People, 2011-2020. The
strategy outlines a range of measures in teacher education, teacher professional
development, curriculum
and assessment that will be taken in the years ahead to
raise standards.
Concluding observations and summary of
progress
- Ireland
submitted its second report to the UN Committee in 2005 (2005, CRC/C/IRL/2).
Following examination of this report, the UN
Committee issued its concluding
observations.[2] The text of these
concluding observations is highlighted throughout the present report in bold
type. These observations and the progress
made with regard to them since 2005
are summarised below. It should be noted that the majority of developments and
issues reported
in this introduction are addressed in more detail in subsequent
chapters of this report. They are summarised here to avoid undue
repetition of
material.
Legislation and implementation (see chapters 1
and 5)
- The
Committee urges the State party to take, as a matter of priority, all necessary
measures, including the allocation of resources,
to enact the outstanding
provisions in the relevant Children Acts for the protection of children’s
rights. The Committee encourages
the State party to undertake further action to
incorporate the Convention into domestic law.
Child Care
(Amendment) Act 2007
- The
Child Care (Amendment) Act 2007 amended both the Child Care Act 1991 and the
Children Act 2001. The principal purpose of the 2007
Act is to provide that a
foster parent or a relative who has had a child in their care for a continuous
period of 5 years, the child
having been placed with them by the Health Service
Executive (HSE), may apply for a court order for increased autonomy with regard
to the care of the child. The Child Care (Amendment) Act 2007 amended
Section 77 of the Children Act 2001 in relation to Family Welfare
Conferencing. It also amended Section 29 of the Child Care Act 1991, which
provides that child care court proceedings are to be held
in private, with a
provision allowing for reporting of those proceedings by specified persons in
specified circumstances.
Child Care (Amendment) Act
2011
- The
primary objective of the Child Care (Amendment) Act 2011 is to create a clear
statutory framework for the High Court to deal with
Special Care cases rather
than employing its inherent jurisdiction. (This is the use of implied powers to
regulate or adjudicate
on any matter that comes before the Court. Inherent
jurisdiction is often invoked for matters not covered by statute, but
nevertheless
viewed as requiring adjudication in the interest of procedural
justice or judicial efficacy.) The Act allows Special Care Units to
be
registered and inspected by the Health Information and Quality Authority
(HIQA).
- Special
Care involves the detention, on an exceptional basis, of a non-offending child
for his or her own welfare and protection in
a Special Care Unit with on-site
educational and therapeutic supports. The child’s behaviour and the risk
of harm posed to
his or her life, health, safety, development or welfare are
addressed in the care setting. Future care requirements are also
explored.
Adoption Act 2010
- The
Adoption Act 2010 commenced on 1 November of that year. The new legislation,
which incorporates the provisions of the Hague Convention,
is designed to
provide a framework to ensure that appropriate procedures have been followed and
that all adoptions are effected in
the best interests of the child. It gives
force of law to the Hague Convention on Protection of Children and Cooperation
in respect
of Intercountry Adoption, which also entered into force in Ireland on
1 November 2010.
Health Act 2007 (establishment of Health
Information and Quality Authority)
- The
Social Services Inspectorate (SSI), which was originally established in 1999,
was placed on a statutory basis as the Office of
the Chief Inspector of Social
Services within the Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA). HIQA
conducts inspections of statutory
residential child care services (i.e. services
managed by the HSE, formerly the health boards) under statutory powers contained
in
Section 69 of the Child Care Act 1991. HIQA was appointed to inspect the
Children Detention Schools under the provisions of Sections
85 and 86 of the
Children Act 2001 (as amended). HIQA also inspects foster care settings and has
developed national child protection
standards against which independent
inspection of child protection services will commence shortly.
- The
commencement of all outstanding provisions of the Children Act 2001 was
completed in 2007 following amendments made by means of
the Criminal Justice Act
2006 and the Child Care (Amendment) Act 2007.
Thirty-first
Amendment of the Constitution (Children) Bill 2012
- A
referendum to specifically enshrine children as rights holders into the
Constitution of Ireland was held in November 2012. The proposal contained an
express rights provision for all children; a more child-centred basis
for
intervention where parents fail in their duties to protect the safety and
welfare of their children; a requirement for specific
provisions to be made by
law relating to the adoption of children; and a requirement that legislation
provides that in child protection,
adoption and certain family law proceedings,
the best interests of the child should be paramount and the views of the child
should
be considered having regard to age and maturity. The changes to the
Constitution to be implemented on enactment of the Bill are set out in
paragraphs 192-193 of this report.
The National Plan of
Action (see chapter 1)
- The
Committee recommends that the State party:
(a) Evaluate and
assess the achievements of the Strategy to date in order to ensure that a
rights-based approach to all the activities
is taken;
(b) Establish specific timeframes for the implementation of the goals and
activities of the Strategy; and
(c) Provide specific budget allocations for the implementation of the
Strategy.
- The
Committee recommends that the State party take steps to ensure that the Plan of
Action covers all areas of the Convention, and
taking into account the outcome
document A World Fit for Children adopted by the United Nations General
Assembly at its special session on children held in May 2002. The Committee
further recommends
that the State party implement and monitor the National Plan
of Action in a participatory and holistic way and submit information
on the
status and impact of these activities in its next report.
- The
National Children’s Strategy was rooted in the Convention on the Rights of
the Child and sought to further the rights of
children in many areas. The new
National Children and Young People’s Policy Framework, currently being
developed by the DCYA,
will build on and develop the National Children’s
Strategy, provide for its continuation in relevant areas and identify priorities
for the Government over the following 5 years.
- A
Mid-Term Review of the National Children’s Strategy, conducted by Peyton
and Wilson in 2006, pointed to the need, among other
things, for a greater
coordination of measures for children. The development of such coordination and
greater central direction and
oversight has been furthered through the
establishment, in 2011, of the DCYA, with a Minister with full Cabinet
status.
- A
single budget for the implementation of the National Children’s Strategy
was not implemented due to the cross-departmental
and cross-sectoral nature of
the strategy and the “whole-child” perspective adopted in it. The
multifaceted nature of
the measures included in the strategy reflected the
multidimensional nature of the lives of children and families (see
paras. 214-215).
Ombudsman for Children’s Office
(see chapter 1)
- The
Committee recommends that the State party, together with the Ombudsman for
Children, review and propose amendments to specific
provisions where necessary,
to limit the scope of investigative powers with a view to eliminating possible
gaps which may result
in a violation of children’s rights.
- In
order to ensure the independent functioning of the Office of the Ombudsman, the
Committee recommends that the State party seek
ways and means to provide the
Office of the Ombudsman with financial resources directly through the Oireachtas
(National Parliament)
and the Department of Finance. The Committee also draws
the State party’s attention to the Committee’s General Comment
No. 2 on the role of independent national human rights institutions in the
promotion and protection of the rights of the child (CRC/GC/2002/2).
- In
March 2012, the Ombudsman for Children’s Office (OCO) published and laid
before the Houses of the Oireachtas (Irish Parliament)
a report by the Ombudsman
for Children on the operation of the Ombudsman for Children Act 2002 (OCO,
2012). This report contains
a number of recommendations on a range of topics,
some particular to specific sectors, including justice and education, and others
with wider implications. The Minister for Children and Youth Affairs is
consulting with colleagues in government and will bring forward
legislative
proposals in due course if appropriate.
- One
of the recommendations in the OCO’s 2012 report was to extend the remit of
the Ombudsman for Children to complaints in respect
of boys under 18 years
detained in St. Patrick’s Institution. With effect from 1 July 2012, an
order was made by the Minister
for Children and Youth Affairs, with the consent
of the Minister for Justice and Equality, that removed this exclusion (Statutory
Instrument No. 210 of 2012). The Minister has also arranged through her
government colleague, the Minister for Public Expenditure
and Reform, to further
extend the range of public bodies to come within the remit of the Ombudsman for
Children. As a result of amendments
contained in Sections 4 and 22 of the
Ombudsman (Amendment) Act 2012, which came into force on 1 November 2012, any
public body that
comes under the remit of the Ombudsman will automatically come
under the remit of the Ombudsman for Children. Thus the jurisdictions
of both
offices are aligned and there is legal certainty and clarity on the matter.
- Funding
for the OCO is drawn directly from the DCYA from funds provided by the
Oireachtas in accordance with the Ombudsman for Children
Act 2002. The Act also
provides that one of the roles of the Ombudsman for Children is to promote
awareness among members of the
public of matters, including the principles and
provisions of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, relating to the rights
and
welfare of children and how those rights can be enforced (see
paras. 240-241).
Data collection
- The
Committee recommends that the State party undertake further measures, including
through strengthening the role of the Central
Statistical Office and other
Governmental departments and agencies to develop a systematic and comprehensive
collection of disaggregated
data in compliance with the Convention, which should
be used for the creation, implementation and monitoring of policies and
programmes
for children.
- Considerable
efforts have been made to develop a systematic and comprehensive collection of
data on children in Ireland by Government
departments and agencies, including
the Central Statistics Office (CSO).
- The
National Children’s Research Programme, which was established in 2003 by
the National Children’s Office (now part
of the Department of Children and
Youth Affairs), has led on several important initiatives, including the
development of a National
Set of Child Well-Being Indicators in 2005 and the
subsequent compilation of the biennial State of the Nation’s
Children report, first published in 2006 and now in its fourth edition
(DCYA, 2012a). These reports, which are based on the National Set of
Child
Well-Being Indicators, are compiled by the DCYA, in partnership with the CSO and
the Health Promotion Research Centre at the
National University of Ireland,
Galway. They aim to describe the lives of children in Ireland, track changes
over time and benchmark
progress in Ireland relative to other countries. Where
appropriate and feasible, indicators in these reports are disaggregated by
age,
gender, social class, geographic location and population groups (e.g. Traveller
children, foreign national children and children
with a disability).
- Almost
40 research studies on children’s lives have also been commissioned under
the National Children’s Research Programme
by the DCYA. The most
significant of these to date is Growing Up in Ireland: National Longitudinal
Study of Children. Its aim is to “study the factors that contribute to
or undermine the well-being of children in contemporary Irish families
and,
through this, contribute to the setting of effective and responsive policies
relating to children and to the design of services
for children and their
families”. It monitors the development of almost 20,000 children –
an infant cohort of 11,100
9-month-olds and a child cohort of 8,570 9-year-olds.
Since Growing Up in Ireland commenced in 2006, more than €30
million has been allocated to two waves of data collection for both the infant
(at age 9 months
and 3 years) and child (at age 9 and 13 years) cohorts, and a
third wave of data collection for the infant cohort (at age 5), which
is due to
commence in 2013 to capture the transition to primary schooling. Findings to
date from the study are available on the dedicated
website www.growingup.ie.
- The
National Strategy for Research and Data on Children’s Lives,
2011-2016 was published by the DCYA in 2011. This strategy sets out a clear
direction for children’s research and data in Ireland and
articulates a
range of specific information needs in relation to children’s health,
education, safety, economic security and
social participation. The
strategy’s Action Plan addresses many of the information deficits
identified through a cross-government
initiative which mobilises the resources
of 23 organisations across government departments and State agencies, including
the CSO.
The DCYA has an oversight and reporting role in relation to the actions
in the strategy, as well as having direct responsibility
for a number of
actions. The strategy places a strong focus on making better use of existing
data holdings and other resources, and
in particular emphasizes the role of data
in providing insights for policy and service provision from the Growing Up in
Ireland study and other large-scale government-funded surveys, such as
Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC), the European School
Project on
Alcohol and Drugs (ESPAD) and the Programme for International Student Assessment
(PISA).
- The
CSO’s role in these and other relevant initiatives has been significant.
The data collected and/or analysed by the Social
and Demographic Statistics
Division at the CSO (i.e. Census of the Population, Household Budget Survey
(HBS), Quarterly National
Household Surveys (QNHS), Surveys on Income and Living
Conditions (SILC) and Vital Statistics) contribute greatly to the bank of
children’s data accumulating in Ireland. In addition, the data
dissemination activities of the CSO are tremendous resources;
they often have a
particular focus on children, for example, Children and Young People in
Ireland 2008 (CSO, 2009) and the SILC Thematic Report on Children
2004-2010 (CSO, 2012c).
- In
addition, building on actions already undertaken by the CSO in the
implementation of the National Statistics Board’s Strategy for
Statistics, 2003-2008 (NSB, 2003) (e.g. assessment of the Statistical
Potential of Administrative Records, assistance with the development of data
strategies
for government departments), the latest strategy for the period
2009-2014 (NSB, 2009) has identified the following five priorities:
- Ensure that the
Irish Statistical System is coherent and that the potential to produce relevant,
impartial and reliable statistics
to inform policy and fiscal decisions is fully
realised;
- Increase value
for money and efficient use of resources by prioritising investment in
statistics (including data processing, sharing,
storage and protection) across
government departments and agencies, and by ensuring that official statistics
can be used in all aspects
of government decision-making;
- Develop systems
to ensure that the burden of response on businesses, households and individuals
is minimised and that the statistical
value of existing survey and
administrative data is maximised through the addition of consistent
classification variables and data
matching identifiers;
- Ensure that
official statistics are “fit for purpose” by balancing relevance,
timeliness, cost, and quality of data so
that critical gaps are filled and new
demands are met;
- Build on the
progress of recent years by continuing to prioritise availability to users by
improving access channels and promoting
use of CSO
statistics.
Dissemination, training and raising
awareness (see chapters 1 and 7)
- The
Committee encourages the State party to further strengthen its efforts to ensure
that the provisions of the Convention are widely
known and understood by both
adults and children, including through periodic and nation-wide public
awareness-raising campaigns that
include also child-friendly material, and
through targeted campaigns and necessary training for professionals working with
children,
in particular within schools and health and social services, and legal
professionals and law enforcement officials.
- A
number of dissemination, training and awareness-raising measures relating to
both the UN Convention and children’s rights
have been undertaken with
children, professionals and the public, many of which are included in this
report. These include human
rights training for primary and second-level
teachers, the provision of guidelines on diversity for preschool service
providers,
training undertaken by Gardaí in relation to child victims and
offenders, and specific training for those dealing with child
asylum-seekers and
children who may have been trafficked. Human rights are also included in both
the primary and secondary school
curricula. A number of public awareness
campaigns have been undertaken in relation to specific issues, including mental
health and
child protection.
Non-discrimination (see
chapter 3)
- The
Committee recommends that the State party ensure that the National Action Plan
Against Racism is fully implemented and that specific
attention is given to
measures to address racism, prejudice, stereotyping and xenophobia among
children, in particular in primary
and secondary education.
- The
National Action Plan Against Racism, 2005-2008 (Department of Justice, Equality
and Law Reform, 2005) led to the development of
a number of strategies which
impact on children and which continue to be implemented by relevant government
services, including the
Intercultural Health Strategy, an Intercultural
Education Strategy, an Arts Strategy and a Workplace Diversity
Strategy.
Best interests of the child (see
chapter 3)
- The
Committee recommends that the State party:
(a) Ensure that
the general principle of the best interests of the child is a primary
consideration without any distinction and is
fully integrated into all
legislation relevant to children; and
(b) Ensure that this principle is also applied in all political, judicial
and administrative decisions, as well as projects, programmes
and services that
have an impact on children.
- The
best interests of the child have been included as the primary consideration in a
number of new pieces of legislation, including
the Adoption Act 2010 and the
Child Care (Amendment) Act 2011. Forthcoming legislation, such as the Children
First Bill, and the
Criminal Justice (Withholding Information on Crimes against
Children and Vulnerable Adults) Act 2012, will further strengthen this
principle
in legislation.
- The
Constitutional change in relation to children’s rights, as a result of the
referendum in November 2012, included provision
to enshrine the principle of
best interests in the Constitution of Ireland as regards child welfare and
protection proceedings brought by the State or proceedings concerning the
adoption, guardianship
or custody of, or access to, any child.
- Policy,
including the National Children’s Strategy (Department of Health and
Children, 2000) and the Agenda for Children’s
Services (OMC, 2007a), has
reinforced the importance of the best interests principle in decision-making.
The Ombudsman for Children’s
Office plays an important role in
investigating administrative decision-making and service provision, and in doing
so assesses the
extent to which the best interests principle has been
met.
Views of the child (see chapters 1 and 3)
- In
light of Article 12 of the Convention, the Committee recommends that the
State party:
(a) Strengthen its efforts to ensure, including
through Constitutional provisions, that children have the right to express their
views
in all matters affecting them and to have those views given due weight in
particular in families, schools and other educational institutions,
the health
sector and in communities;
(b) Ensure that children be provided with the opportunity to be heard in
any judicial and administrative proceedings affecting them,
and that due weight
be given to those views in accordance with the age and maturity of the child,
including the use of independent
representations (Guardian ad Litem)
provided for under the Child Care Act of 1991, in particular in cases where
children are separated from their parents; and
(c) Take into account the recommendations adopted on the Committee’s
day of general discussion on the right of the child to
be heard in September
2006.
- Under
the National Children’s Strategy, a number of structures were put in place
to ensure that the views of the child are taken
into account during
administrative matters that affect them. These structures, and progress made
under them, are further detailed
in Chapters 1 and 3 of this report.
- The
Adoption Act 2010 provides that any child subject to an adoption application who
has attained the age of 7 years must have their
views heard by the Adoption
Authority and due weight must be accorded to these views in line with the
child’s age and maturity.
- The
National Standards for the Protection and Welfare of Children (HIQA, 2012a)
state that “children will be listened to and
their concerns and complaints
are responded to openly and effectively”.
- In
2009, the Children Acts Advisory Board, in consultation with key stakeholders,
published guidelines for the role, appointment,
qualification and training of
guardians ad litem (CAAB, 2009).
- The
Criminal Procedure Act 2010 amended the law on victim impact evidence and
includes special provision for child victims of crime.
- The
Constitutional change in relation to children’s rights, which was the
subject of a referendum on 10 November 2012, included
provision to enshrine and
strengthen the rights of the child to have his or her views ascertained and
given due weight in child welfare
and protection proceedings brought by the
State or proceedings concerning the adoption, guardianship or custody of, or
access to,
any child.
Protection of privacy to all legal
proceedings involving children (see chapter 4)
- The
Committee recommends that the State party take necessary measures to extend the
protection of privacy to all legal proceedings
involving children.
- Legal
proceedings involving children in both civil and criminal law prohibit the
identification of children (see paras. 337-339).
Family
environment (see chapter 5)
- The
Committee recommends that the State party:
(a) Undertake an
extensive review of the support services provided under the different the
Governmental departments to assess the
quality and outreach of these services
and to identify and address possible shortcomings; and
(b) Extend the social work services provided to families and children at
risk to a seven day, 24-hour service.
- Since
2005, the Crisis Intervention Service, based in the greater Dublin area, has
been expanded to include all children up to the
age of 18 years. In June 2009,
under Section 12 of the Child Care Act 1991, the HSE established the
Emergency Place of Safety Service,
whereby Gardaí can access an
appropriate place of safety for children and young people found to be at risk
outside normal
working hours. Two pilot projects were commenced in 2011, in Cork
and Donegal, to develop a model of out-of-hours social work provision.
These
pilots have been independently evaluated.
Family reunification
(see chapter 5)
- The
Committee recommends that the State party:
(a) Consider
reviewing the definition of family in the Refugee Act of 1996 to better
correspond to the developing understanding of
the family;
(b) Consider establishing a legal framework for family reunification
outside situations under the Refugee Act; and
(c) Ensure that the principle of the best interests of the child is always
a primary consideration when making decisions involving
children under any legal
or administrative procedures.
- The
question of broadening the definition of family reunification for persons
granted refugee status is a matter that can be considered
in the context of the
redevelopment of Ireland’s immigration legislation and specifically the
Immigration, Residence and Protection
Bill 2010. The Minister for Justice and
Equality has indicated his intention to republish this Bill subject to
amendment. Without
prejudging this consideration, it should be borne in mind
that any person may make an application to come to Ireland and to provide
all
relevant information in support of the application. These applications may be
based, inter alia, on the person’s relationship
with a refugee. It should
also be borne in mind that where family reunification is granted as of right,
even where such rights are
qualified, it would follow that there is a balance to
be struck in terms of defining the qualifying family. In other words, the more
automatic the right of reunification, the closer the required familial
relationship.
- Work
is underway at present in relation to non-refugee family reunification,
including setting out, in a more transparent way, the
sort of outcome that might
be reasonably expected from an application for family reunification.
- The
issue of the best interests of the child is also being considered in the context
of the development of the Immigration, Residence
and Protection Bill referred to
above.
Alternative care for children without parental care (see
chapter 5)
- The
Committee recommends that the State party:
(a) Consider
measures to create a statutory basis for the Social Services Inspectorate to
function and extend its mandate to all children
without parental care,
irrespective of the care required; and
(b) Strengthen its efforts to ensure and provide for follow-up and
aftercare to young persons leaving care centres.
- The
Social Services Inspectorate was placed on a statutory footing under the Health
Act 2007 and now forms part of the Health Information
and Quality Authority
(HIQA), which is the independent, statutory regulator of Health and Social
Services. HIQA has developed standards
in respect of children’s
residential care (Department of Health and Children, 2001a), foster care
(Department of Health and
Children, 2003) and child protection services (HIQA,
2012), and has been provided with additional resources to inspect service
provision
against these standards.
- Following
an audit of existing aftercare services and consultations, the HSE introduced
the Leaving and Aftercare Services: National
Policy and Procedure, in 2011 (HSE,
2011a). This is currently being implemented
nationally.
Adoption (see chapter 5)
- The
Committee recommends that the State party expedite its efforts to enact and
implement the legislative reforms, ensure that all
relevant legislation is in
conformity with international standards, and that the best interests of the
child are a primary consideration.
- The
Adoption Act 2010, which incorporates the provisions of the Hague Convention,
was commenced on 1 November 2010, coinciding with
the establishment of the
Adoption Authority of Ireland (AAI) and Ireland’s ratification of the
Hague Convention on Protection
of Children and Cooperation in respect of
Intercountry Adoption. The Act provides a framework to ensure that appropriate
adoption
procedures have been followed and that all adoptions are effected in
the best interests of the child.
- Effective
from that date, intercountry adoptions may now be effected with other countries
that have ratified the Hague Convention
or with which Ireland has a bilateral
agreement.
- The
AAI is working to establish administrative arrangements with other countries
that have ratified the Hague Convention in relation
to intercountry adoptions,
as provided for under Sections 71 and 72 of the Adoption Act 2010.
- The
negotiation of bilateral agreements on intercountry adoption with States that
have not ratified the Hague Convention is governed
by Section 73 of the
Adoption Act 2010. Any bilateral arrangements that might be entered into would
be required by law to meet the
minimum standards set out in the Hague Convention
and Irish public policy regarding adoption. They must also have AAI consent, be
effected through regulated adoption agencies and must not involve the exchange
of money.
- All
adoptions registered in Ireland, both intercountry and domestic adoptions, must
be in compliance with the Hague Convention.
Violence, abuse
and neglect (see chapter 5)
- In
light of Article 19 of the Convention, the Committee recommends that the
State party:
(a) Continue reviewing the Children First
guidelines and consider their establishment on a statutory basis;
(b) Ensure that all reported cases of abuse and neglect are adequately
investigated and prosecuted and that victims of abuse and neglect
have access to
counselling and assistance with physical recovery and social
reintegration;
(c) Develop a comprehensive child abuse prevention strategy, including
developing adequate responses to abuse, neglect and domestic
violence;
facilitating local, national, and regional co-ordination, and conducting
sensitisation, awareness-raising and educational
activities; and
(d) Ensure that evaluation of all employees and volunteers working with
children is undertaken prior to recruitment, and that adequate
support and
training is provided for the duration of their employment.
- In
the context of the Secretary-General’s in-depth study on the question of
violence against children, the Committee recommends
that the State party use the
outcome of the Regional Consultation for Europe and Central Asia held in
Slovenia from 5 to 7 July 2005
as a tool for taking action, in partnership with
civil society, to ensure that every child is protected from all forms of
physical,
sexual or mental violence, and for gaining momentum for concrete and,
where appropriate, time-bound actions to prevent and respond
to such violence
and abuse. In addition, the Committee would like to draw the States
party’s attention to the report of the
independent expert for the United
Nations study on violence against children (A/61/299) and to encourage the State
party to take
all appropriate measures to implement overarching recommendations
as well as setting-specific recommendations contained in this report.
- The
revised edition of Children First: National Guidance for the Protection and
Welfare of Children (DCYA, 2011b) was launched by the Minister for Children
and Youth Affairs in July 2011. A comprehensive implementation strategy has
been
put in place with the participation of key sectors. Legislation is being drafted
to place Children First on a legislative basis. Heads of Bill for the
legislation have been published and considered in detail by the relevant
Parliamentary
committee (Oireachtas Health and Children Committee).
- Following
a number of child abuse inquiries, a range of additional measures and resources
were put in place to strengthen the child
protection system, including the
forthcoming establishment of the Child and Family Agency (CFA) and the
recruitment of 270 additional
social workers.
- In
2012, HIQA published the National Standards for the Protection and Welfare of
Children. These standards are designed to ensure that the safety and welfare
of children within the child protection system are protected
and that the child
is at the centre of all interventions.
- The
National Vetting Bureau (Children and Vulnerable Persons) Act 2012 places the
vetting of persons working with children and/or
vulnerable persons on a
statutory basis, including the disclosure of non-criminal record information
which gives rise to a concern
that a person may harm or cause to be harmed a
child or vulnerable person.
Corporal punishment (see
chapter 4)
- The
Committee reiterates its previous recommendation (CRC/C/15/Add.85,
para. 39) and urges the State party to:
(a) Explicitly
prohibit all forms of corporal punishment in the family;
(b) Sensitise and educate parents and the general public about the
unacceptability of corporal punishment;
(c) Promote positive, non-violent forms of discipline as an alternative to
corporal punishment; and
(d) Take into account the Committee’s General Comment No. 8 on
the right of the child to protection from corporal punishment
and other cruel or
degrading forms of punishment (CRC/GC/2006/8).
- It
is important to clarify that Ireland does not have any law that specifically
permits corporal punishment within the home setting.
Section 246 of the Children
Act 2001 provides clear legal deterrents to the use of excessive physical
discipline within this and
other settings.
- Although
a limited defence of “reasonable chastisement” exists in common law,
courts in Ireland have previously handed
down severe sentences in cases where
parents have been convicted for assault or the use of excessive or unreasonable
force against
their children.
- It
is important to emphasize that considerable progress has been made in recent
years in eliminating virtually all forms of violence
against children in Ireland
and in encouraging parents to use alternative non-violent forms of discipline in
the family setting.
Recent findings to emerge from Growing Up in Ireland:
National Longitudinal Study of Children, funded by the DCYA, indicate that
almost 90% of parents reported never (57%) or rarely (32%) using corporal or
physical punishment
as a means of disciplining their children (Williams et al.,
2009). A wide variety of parenting courses are provided throughout
Ireland and further research indicates that parents both acknowledge and
appreciate the influence of education on parenting styles as a factor in the
declining use of corporal punishment. In addition, ongoing
work is planned by
the DCYA to establish the most effective ways in which to support parents
through the new Child and Family Agency.
Children with
disabilities (see chapter 6)
- The
Committee recommends that the State party:
(a) Adopt an
inclusive and rights-based legal framework that addresses the specific needs of
children with disabilities and implement
all relevant provisions of existing
legislation related to children with disabilities; and
(b) Undertake awareness-raising campaigns with the involvement of children
which focus on prevention and inclusion, available support
and services for
children with disabilities, as well as combating negative societal attitudes
towards children with disabilities.
- The
Committee also urges the State party to review existing policies and practices
in relation to children with disabilities, giving
due attention to the United
Nations Standard Rules on the Equalisation of Opportunities for Persons with
Disabilities (General Assembly
Resolution 48/96) and the recommendations adopted
by the Committee on its day of general discussion on the rights of children with
disabilities (see CRC/C/69).
- In
Census 2011, 66,437 children and young people aged 17 and under in Ireland were
recorded as having a disability.
- Significant
budget allocations (€9.8 million in 2008, with an additional €20
million in 2009) were made available to improve
the assessment of and the
provision of health and education services to children with special needs.
- The
HSE National Programme on Progressing Disability Services for Children and Young
People (0-18 years) has been established since
2010. The programme aims to
provide one clear pathway to services for all children with disabilities,
according to need, with the
health and education sectors collaborating to
support children to achieve their full potential. A key element of the programme
will
be to address the inequity of access to services that currently exists
across the country, due to the inconsistent development of
these services that
has taken place.
- The
National Housing Strategy for People with Disabilities was launched in October
2011 (Department of the Environment, Community
and Local Government, 2011a).
Among the key actions included in this policy is a commitment to ensuring that
current and future needs
of children with disabilities are made central
considerations during the process of allocating housing to families.
- Draft
standards for all residential and respite services for adults and children with
disabilities have been developed. These standards
will be subject to public
consultation, prior to their finalisation. HIQA has indicated that it plans to
commence the inspection
process in the second half of 2013.
- The
Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport is currently attempting to improve
transport facilities for individuals with mobility
and sensory impairments. Both
rural and urban areas have seen significant increases in numbers of accessible
vehicles and improved
access to much of the public transport infrastructure.
Health and health services (see chapter 6)
- The
Committee recommends that the State party:
(a) Adopt
all-inclusive legislation that addresses the health needs of children;
(b) Ensure that availability and quality of health care services are
maintained throughout the country by providing targeted resources
and by
establishing statutory guidelines for the quality of these services;
(c) Ensure that the resources used for existing health care services for
children are used in a strategic and coordinated manner benefiting
all i.e. the
public, the community and the voluntary sectors; and
(d) Pay special attention to needs of refugee and asylum-seeking children,
and children belonging to the Traveller community, inter
alia, by implementing
the existing National Strategy for Traveller Health.
- The
Committee reiterates its previous recommendation (CRC/C/15/Add.85 paras. 20
and 38), and recommends that the State party:
(a) Make full
use of the findings and implement recommendations of the Expert Group on Mental
Health Policy appointed by the Minister
of State at the Department of Health in
2003;
(b) Undertake awareness-raising and sensitisation measures to prevent
stigmatisation and ensure that focus is given to early intervention
programmes;
and
(c) Continue its efforts to ensure that children with mental health
difficulties benefit from specific services designed for children
under 18 years
of age.
- The
key objective of the Primary Care Health Strategy, Quality and Fairness
(Department of Health and Children, 2001b), is to develop services in the
community that will allow individuals direct access to
integrated
multidisciplinary teams of general practitioners, nurses, physiotherapists,
occupational therapists and other medical
staff. Additional services, such as
speech and language therapy, may be provided on a sessional basis.
- The
implementation of the Primary Care Health Strategy is ongoing and the process is
expected to be completed in coming years. The
continued development of primary
care teams and the provision of GP out-of-hours services are fundamental to
allowing individuals
easier access to care that is close to their homes.
- The
Government is embarking on a major reform programme that aims to deliver a
single-tier health system supported by universal health
insurance, to which
access is determined with reference to need. Every citizen will have a selection
of insurers from which to choose
and equal access to a comprehensive range of
curative services. Underpinning this programme is a strengthening of primary
care services,
including the removal of cost as a barrier to access.
- The
National Standards for Safer Better Healthcare were developed by HIQA (2012b)
and launched by the Minister for Health in June
2012.
- The
National Intercultural Health Strategy, 2007-2012 (HSE, 2008a) acknowledges the
Traveller community as a group at greater risk
of poor health, with particular
risk attached to the children of this community. The All-Ireland Traveller
Health Study was completed
in 2010 (see paras. 466-469).
- A
number of key developments have taken place in relation to Child and Adolescent
Mental Health Services (CAMHS). There are now 61
multidisciplinary teams in
place throughout the country, psychiatric bed capacity for children and
adolescents has increased almost
four-fold from 2007 levels, and a new child and
adolescent day hospital is due to open in Dublin. Future plans in this area
include
the construction of a 22-bed in-patient facility in Dublin and the
provision of a 10-bed child and adolescent forensic mental health
unit as part
of the National Forensic Mental Health Project. An additional allocation of
€35 million has been provided for
expenditure on mental health services in
2012, in line with commitments in the Programme for Government 2011-2016
(Department of
An Taoiseach, 2011).
Adolescent health (see
chapter 6)
- The
Committee recommends that the State party strengthen its efforts to address
alcohol consumption by children, by, inter alia, developing
and implementing a
comprehensive strategy which should include awareness-raising, the prohibition
of alcohol consumption by children
and advertising that targets
children.
- In
this regard the Committee also draws the State party’s attention to the
Committee’s General Comment No. 4 on adolescent
health
(CRC/GC/4/2003).
- The
Committee urges the State party to implement the new ten-year National Strategy
for Action on Suicide Prevention and the recommendations
from the second report
of the Strategic Task Force on Alcohol.
- The
Committee recommends that the State party strengthen its efforts to enhance
access to adolescent-specific reproductive and sexual
health information and
services, and that these are not limited to school curricula but can also be
accessed within the adolescent
daily living environment, in addition to
information and awareness-raising campaigns.
- Codes
of practice on the placement of alcohol advertising were agreed in 2004 between
the alcohol industry, advertising industry and
Department of Health, and were
further strengthened in 2008. The purpose of these codes is to reduce the
exposure of children and
young people to the marketing of alcohol. Real and
tangible proposals on dealing with alcohol misuse on the basis of the
recommendations
of the Report of the National Substance Misuse Strategy
Steering Group (published in February 2012) are being finalised. In
addition, the Government has sponsored the development of a nationwide network
of youth cafés that will provide a drug/alcohol-free alternative social
space for young people. These are addressed in more
detail later in this report.
The Office of the Minister for Children also published a report in 2008,
Teenagers’ Views on Solutions to Alcohol Misuse, based on a
national consultation with young people (OMC, 2008).
- In
2005, Reach Out: National Strategy for Action on Suicide Prevention,
2005-2014 was launched. The report was produced by the Health Service
Executive, the National Suicide Review Group and the Department of Health
and
Children, following extensive consultation with all major stakeholders,
including the general public. The strategy called for
a multisectoral approach
to the prevention of suicidal behaviour, involving cooperation between health,
education, community, voluntary
and private sector agencies.
- The
strategy is overseen by the National Office for Suicide Prevention (NOSP). The
NOSP provides training, undertakes research on
suicide, formulates strategies
for its prevention and provides funding for organisations dealing with suicide
and its prevention,
including organisations working with young people.
- A
steering group was set up in May 2012 by the Department of Health to oversee the
drafting of a National Sexual Health Strategy,
which will be submitted to the
Government upon completion. The DCYA will have direct input into the strategy,
from its participation
in the steering group, including material collected
during consultation with young people. The strategy will formulate a strategic
direction for the delivery of sexual health services, focus on improving sexual
health and well-being, and address the surveillance,
testing, treatment and
prevention of HIV and other STIs, crisis pregnancy and sexual health education
and promotion. The strategy
will be in line with the forthcoming Public Health
Policy Framework.
- The
HSE Crisis Pregnancy Programme funds a range of sexual health programmes
targeted at particular groups, including adolescents.
The programme works with
educational and youth work organisations, and has launched a website (www.b4udecide.ie) to provide information on
sexual health for young people, parents and professionals. Key areas of work
under this programme include
collaborating with the Department of Education and
Skills and the National Youth Council of Ireland to progress the full
implementation
of the Relationships and Sexuality Education (RSE) programme in
schools and youth work settings; the development, promotion and distribution
of
resources for young people and parents to promote good communication about sex;
providing training to a range of youth organisations
to deliver relationship and
sexuality education to key target groups; and working alongside and funding
youth-based services to ensure
that these have relationship and sex education
components, particularly services working with hard-to-reach groups in community
settings.
Harmful traditional practices (see
chapter 6)
- The
Committee urges the State party to continue its efforts to end the practice of
FGM [female genital mutilation], for example, through
prohibiting FGM by law,
including the possibility of extra-territorial jurisdiction, and implementing
targeted programmes which sensitise
all segments of the population about its
extremely harmful effects. The Committee recommends that the State party involve
and mobilise
all relevant partners at the local level, including teachers,
midwives, traditional health practitioners and religious and community
leaders
to prevent the practice of FGM. It also draws the attention of the State party
to the recommendations adopted on the Day
of General Discussion on the girl
child (CRC/C/38).
- On
2 April 2012, the President signed into law the Criminal Justice (Female Genital
Mutilation) Act 2011. The Act commenced on 20
September 2012 and explicitly
prohibits female genital mutilation (FGM) along with related offences, some of
which apply to certain
extra-territorial jurisdictions. The Act also makes it an
offence to remove a girl from the State for the purpose of FGM. The legislation
takes a human rights perspective and stipulates that the right to practise
one’s cultural traditions and beliefs cannot be
used to justify FGM, which
has been internationally recognised as a form of gender-based violence. A
defence of custom or ritual
in proceedings is not permitted; neither is a
defence that the girl/woman or her parents/guardians consented to FGM.
Punishment is
up to 14 years’ imprisonment and/or a fine; for a summary
conviction, the penalty is a fine of up to €5,000 and/or imprisonment
for
up to 12 months, or both.
Standard of living (see
chapter 6)
- The
Committee recommends that the State party:
(a) Effectively
implement its National Anti-Poverty Strategy and strengthen its support to
families living in economic hardship in
order to ensure that poverty is reduced
and children are protected against the negative impact of economic hardship on
their development;
(b) Introduce a supplement to the existing universal child benefit
payments as an additional and targeted allowance to assist the
families which
experience highest levels of poverty;
(c) Implement fully existing polices and strategies and increase budgetary
allocations for and subsidisation of services, including
childcare, healthcare
and housing, for families with children who are particularly vulnerable;
and
(d) Increase investments in social and affordable housing for low-income
families.
- Tackling
child poverty is a priority for the Government. Four of the 12 high-level goals
set out in the National Action Plan for Social
Inclusion, 2007-2016 relate to
children, as do 45 of its targets. The Programme for Government 2011-2016 also
sets out commitments
to help address child poverty.
- Recent
poverty trends have prompted a review of the national poverty target, as a
result of which a new sub-target for the reduction
of child poverty has been
recommended. This will likely aim to reduce the differential rates of consistent
poverty between children
and adults.
- UNICEF
regularly produces report cards on child poverty and well-being. The most recent
report, produced in 2010, ranks 24 OECD countries
by performance in terms of
three dimensions of inequality in child well-being: material well-being,
educational well-being and health
well-being. Ireland was awarded a score of 7
points, from a possible 8, for its overall inequality
record.[3] This places Ireland in
second place, alongside Iceland, Norway and Sweden.
- A
new approach, outlined in the Programme for Government 2011-2016, plans to break
the most deeply entrenched cycles of child poverty,
although the potentially
negative impact of the economic recession provides a challenging backdrop.
- As
a result of the need to reduce the structural level of government spending,
universal Child Benefit rates were reduced in Budgets
2010 and 2011. Budget 2012
maintained the Child Benefit rate for the first and second child at the rate of
€140 per child per
month and also provided for the standardisation of the
rate to €140 for the third and subsequent children from 2013. Budget
2013
reduced the rate of Child Benefit for the first and second child to €130
per month. It also standardised the rate for
the third child at €130 per
month, while the rate for the fourth and subsequent child will be €140 per
month during 2013
before full standardisation at €130 per month from 2014.
Budget 2013 also directed some of the savings from the reductions
in Child
Benefit to a new Children Plus Initiative, which is targeted at low-income
families and includes an area-based approach
to child poverty, after-school
childcare and additional funding for school meals.
- In
2011, there were 43,578 households with children identified as being in need of
social housing. The next assessment of housing
needs is due to be carried out by
local authorities in April 2013. Information on particular housing needs,
household size and composition
(including number and ages of children) will be
gathered as part of the assessment. This information will be used by authorities
when drawing up their social housing programmes.
- The
Community Childcare Subvention (CCS) Programme was introduced in September 2010,
replacing a broadly similar programme that was
in place from January 2008. The
CCS Programme subsidises childcare costs for low-income parents. Under the
programme, subvention
funding is paid to community-based childcare services to
enable them to charge reduced childcare fees to parents in receipt of (most)
social welfare payments, Family Income Supplement, or who hold a medical or GP
visit card.
- The
Childcare Education and Training Support (CETS) Programme was introduced in
September 2010 and provides subsidised childcare places
to parents availing
themselves of certain FÁS or VEC training programmes.
- These
childcare programmes provide targeted support to parents who require childcare
and who are in low-income employment, seeking
employment or availing themselves
of training and education support.
- The
Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) Programme, introduced in January 2010,
is a universal programme designed to provide
every child with a free preschool
year in the key developmental period prior to starting school. The provision of
a free preschool
year to all children, regardless of income or circumstances,
gives every child equal access to preschool
education.
Education, leisure and cultural activities (see
chapter 7)
- The
Committee recommends that the State party:
(a) Continue
undertaking measures to create an educational environment where the special
needs of the child are taken into consideration,
inter alia, by undertaking
appropriate professional assessment of the specific needs of children, providing
technical and material
support for children with special needs, ensuring
children in schools have the right to be heard in all matters concerning their
well-being, and by continuing efforts to reduce overall class sizes to provide
education to all children on an equal footing;
(b) Ensure that budgetary allocations are also directed at improving and
upgrading school buildings, recreational equipment and facilities,
and the
sanitary conditions in schools;
(c) Ensure that necessary measures are taken to combat the phenomenon of
bullying and that its consequences are dealt with in a responsive
and
child-sensitive manner; and
(d) Publish and disseminate the prepared Traveller Education Strategy and
undertake training activities for teachers in order to sensitise
them to
Traveller issues and inter-cultural approaches.
- The
Committee encourages the State party to take fully into consideration the
recommendations made by the Committee on the Elimination
of Racial
Discrimination (CERD/C/IRL/CO/2, para. 18) which encourages the promotion
of the establishment of non-denominational or
multi-denominational schools and
to amend the existing legislative framework to eliminate discrimination in
school admissions.
- The
current Programme for Government has committed to the publication of a
plan regarding the implementation of the Education for Persons with Special
Educational Needs Act 2004 (EPSEN). Priorities will include
the implementation
of a system in which necessary supports follow a child from primary school to
second level, and greater integration
of services related to special needs.
- A
number of resources are provided to schools to support the education of children
with special needs. These include resource teachers
and special needs assistants
(SNAs). In 2006, 8,390 SNAs were in place supporting children in schools. In
2012, the number of SNAs
was 10,324, which included some 2,000 in place in
special schools supporting 6,905 pupils.
- The
Intercultural Education Strategy, 2010-2015 was launched in September 2010 by
the Department of Education and Skills and the Office
of the Minister for
Integration. It is designed to assist in the creation of an intercultural,
integrated and inclusive learning
environment in all sectors of education, from
preschool to further and higher education.
- At
both primary and second level, additional language support is provided for
students who do not speak English as their first language.
In 2012, allocation
of language support was reformed by combining resources for high incidence
special needs education and language
support within a simplified allocation
process. The new arrangements also provide for additional permanent teaching
posts for schools
with a high concentration of pupils requiring language
support.
- The
phasing out of segregated Traveller preschools is one of the objectives of the
Report and Recommendations for a Traveller Education Strategy, published
by the Government of Ireland in 2006. The introduction of universal preschool
provision (the ECCE Programme) in January
2010, and with it the opening of
places in commercial and community services for all children, provided an
opportunity for Traveller
and settled children to attend preschool together.
Preschool services have been supported in integrating children from all
backgrounds
through accredited equality and diversity training.
- In
addition, the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA) published
Guidelines for Schools on Intercultural Education in the Primary School
(2005) and Intercultural Education in the Post-Primary School
(2006) to assist schools to enable their students “to respect and
celebrate diversity, to promote equality and to challenge
unfair
discrimination”.
- The
colleges of education are working on the reconfiguration of their teacher
education programmes in light of recent developments,
including the publication
of the National Strategy to Improve Literacy and Numeracy among Children and
Young People, 2011-2020 (Department of Education and Skills, 2011) and the
Teaching Council’s Policy on the Continuum of Teacher Education
(2011a). The Teaching Council (2011b) has also published a document entitled
Initial Teacher Education: Criteria and Guidelines for Programme Providers,
which lists inclusive education (including special education,
multiculturalism and disadvantage) as a mandatory element of the revised
teacher
education programmes. The process of reconfiguration is ongoing and detailed
curricula for the colleges are indicated for
2012/13 for a revised Bachelor of
Education and 2014 for a revised postgraduate course.
- In
2011, the Minister for Education and Skills announced the establishment of the
Forum on Patronage and Pluralism in the Primary
Sector, and appointed an
independent Advisory Group. The Report of the Advisory Group to the Forum on
Patronage and Pluralism was published in April 2012 (Coolahan et al., 2012);
the Minister outlined his action plan in response to the report in June 2012
and
work is underway to implement this.
- In
2010, Addressing Homophobia: Guidelines for the Youth Sector in Ireland
was published. This was developed by the BeLonG To Youth Service, and funded by
the OMCYA (now the DCYA).
- On
17 May 2012, the Minister for Education and Skills and the Minister for Children
and Youth Affairs jointly hosted a one-day anti-bullying
forum. This forum
sought to explore ways of tackling the problem of bullying in schools and to
consider potential changes to existing
practices and policies in schools to
allow them to tackle bullying more effectively. The forum brought together more
than 100 stakeholders,
including representatives of student, parent and school
management groups, teacher unions, support groups for victims of bullying,
rights activists and bullying experts, and the proceedings were broadcast live
over the Internet. At the forum, the Minister for
Education and Skills issued a
public call for submissions on the topic and 68 submissions were received.
Alongside the forum, the
Minister established an Anti-Bullying Working Group on
tackling bullying, including homophobic bullying, cyber-bullying and racist
bullying. The outcomes and recommendations from the Forum, along with the
submissions received, were considered by the Working Group,
which published its
Action Plan on Bullying report in February 2013, launched by the Minister
for Education and Skills and the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs. The
Action
Plan includes 12 actions that centre on supports for schools, raising
awareness and further research. Work has commenced on implementing
these actions
in consultation with teachers, parents and management bodies at primary and
secondary level.
Leisure, recreation and cultural activities
(see chapter 7)
- The
Committee recommends that the State party place more emphasis on the creation of
facilities for children to enjoy leisure, recreation
and cultural
activities.
- Ready,
Steady, Play: A National Play Policy was published in March 2004, the first
of its kind to be published by any country (NCO, 2004). Since 2005, the
Government has allocated
approximately €28.3 million to local authorities
for the provision or improvement of playgrounds as part of the implementation
of
both Ready, Steady, Play and the RAPID scheme for disadvantaged areas. In
addition, the Government sponsors an annual national (themed) play-day in
cooperation
with a nationwide network of local government agencies and local
community groups. Approximately 85% of local authorities staged
play-day events
in 2012, the highest-ever level of participation (see paras 614-615).
- In
September 2007, Teenspace: The National Recreation Policy for Young
People was launched (OMC, 2007b). This policy addresses the recreational
needs of young people between the ages of 12 and 17 years, and
provides a
strategic framework for the promotion of positive recreational opportunities
aimed principally at this group. One action
resulting from this policy has been
the development of youth cafés, which allow young people to meet and
socialise in a safe
drug/alcohol-free environment. It is estimated that between
75 and 100 youth cafés were opened between 2007 and 2012. This
rate
intensified in 2010, following the establishment of the dedicated National Youth
Café Funding Scheme by the Government,
which is now commencing
professional research to examine the impact of these facilities on local urban
and rural communities (see
paras. 629-632).
- A
number of programmes operated by the Youth Affairs Unit of the DCYA address the
social, personal and recreational needs of young
people. These include the Youth
Service Grant Scheme, Special Projects for Youth, the Young People’s
Facilities and Services
Fund, the Local Youth Club Grant Scheme, Youth
Information Centres, An Gaisce (The President’s Award), Léargas
–
The Exchange Bureau, the National Youth Health Programme and the
National Youth Arts Programme. A number of these programmes are
aimed
specifically at hard-to-reach or disadvantaged young people. The DCYA oversees
the implementation of both the National Play
and National Recreation policies by
local authorities.
Special protection measures (see
chapters 1, 2, 7 and 8)
Refugee and asylum-seeking children
- The
Committee recommends that the State party take necessary measures to bring the
policy, procedures and practice into line with
its international obligations, as
well as principles outlined in other documents, including the Statement of Good
Practices produced
by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and Save
the Children. The Committee further encourages the State party to ensure
that
the same standards of and access to support services applies whether the child
is in the care of the authorities or a parent.
- The
Committee also draws the attention of the State party to its General Comment
No. 6 (2005) on treatment of unaccompanied and separated
children outside
their country of origin (CRC/GC/2005/6).
- The
Office of the Refugee Applications Commissioner and the Refugee Appeals Tribunal
continue to work with other agencies to ensure
that all asylum procedures take
the best interests of the child into account. Regular meetings are held with the
HSE and the Refugee
Legal Service in order to arrange for the processing of
unaccompanied minor cases and to deal with practical issues as they arise.
- Arrangements
are in place to facilitate the presence of a social worker at the interview
stage in cases of applicant minors who “age
out” (i.e. reach their
eighteenth birthday) during the appeals process. Where feasible, their hearing
will be with a Tribunal
Member trained in dealing with separated children.
- In
regard to services for Separated Children Seeking Asylum, the HSE has
implemented an Equity of Care Policy and can confirm that
separated children
seeking asylum have access to and are provided with the same services as Irish
citizens in accordance with the
Child Care Act 1991.
- All
asylum-seeking children in the Direct Provision system access health and
education (i.e. primary and post-primary) supports on
the same basis as Irish
citizens. In addition, a number of special protection measures are in place for
refugee and asylum-seeking
children, including provisions under the
Intercultural Education Strategy, targeted education provisions for
unaccompanied minors
and training for staff of relevant agencies in the
interviewing and screening of unaccompanied and accompanied
minors.
Age of criminal responsibility
- The
Committee recommends that the State party reinstate the provisions regarding the
age of criminal responsibility as established
in the Children Act 2001.
- Ireland’s
age of criminal responsibility remains at 12 years of age. While 10 and
11 year-olds can be charged with serious offences,
no prosecutions of any
child under the age of 14 years may take place without the consent of the
Director of Public Prosecutions.
Administration of juvenile
justice
- The
Committee recommends that:
(a) The State party provides a
statutory basis for the Irish Justice Service and that the Justice Service give
high priority to the
drafting and implementation of a child-oriented,
rights-based Youth Justice Policy based on the Convention; and
(b) The Anti-Social Behaviour Orders are closely monitored and are only
used as a last resort after preventive measures (including
a diversion scheme
and family conferences) have been exhausted.
- The
Committee recommends that children who have committed “anti-social
behaviour” cannot be diverted to the Garda Diversion
Programme, and that
admission to the programme can never be considered as a sentence in future
criminal proceedings. The Committee
further urges the State party to implement a
set of alternative measures as a matter of priority to ensure that the
deprivation of
liberty is used only as a last resort and for the shortest
possible time.
- The
Committee recommends that the State party make every effort to use detention as
a last resort. Where detention is deemed unavoidable,
the Committee recommends
that the State party provide children under the age of 18 with separate
detention facilities. The Committee
encourages the State party to make every
effort in order to include in the investigation and inspection mandate of the
Ombudsman
for Children all places of detention where children are currently
held.
- There
are no plans to place the Irish Youth Justice Service (IYJS) on a standalone
statutory footing. The IYJS was incorporated into
the DCYA on 1 January 2012,
with some staff co-located from the Department of Justice and Equality. The
report of the task force
on the forthcoming Child and Family Agency has
recommended that Children Detention Schools should come under the statutory
remit
of the Agency.
- Progress
has been made towards each of the five high-level goals of the National Youth
Justice Strategy, 2008-2010, with the majority
of objectives being completed.
The IYJS is currently in the process of developing a follow-up strategy under
the umbrella of the
National Children and Young People’s Policy Framework
and as part of a proposed national anti-crime strategy being developed
by the
Department of Justice and Equality as part of the white paper on crime.
- The
Department of Justice and Equality, in consultation with An Garda
Síochána (Irish Police Force), continues to monitor
the use of
anti-social behaviour orders in the context of a range of measures and
approaches which are available to help address
anti-social behaviour at the
local level. The relevant legislation is subject to review on an ongoing basis.
- The
integration of the anti-social behaviour mechanism into the wider Garda Youth
Diversion Programmes provides an effective incremental
process for dealing with
those who are slow to change behaviour. The options include (i) doing nothing/no
further police action,
(ii) an informal caution, (iii) a formal caution,
involving supervision by a Garda Juvenile Liaison Officer, and (iv)
prosecution.
- With
regard to the question of sentencing Judges being informed of previous
admission(s) of a child to a Garda Youth Diversion Programme,
the State believes
that this is not necessarily out of line with international standards. Where a
court is making a decision on a
child who has pleaded guilty to or is found
guilty of committing an offence, it is important that the Probation Officer, who
makes
the pre-sanction report, and the Judge have all relevant information about
the child’s history when considering his or her
best interests. The
overriding principle is that detention must be used as a last resort.
- The
Children Act 2001 provides for the detention of a child as a measure of last
resort. There has been a downward trend in the average
annual use of detention
of children being detained at any one time, from 134 places in 2004 to 80 in
2011.
- All
girls under 18 years who are subject to detention are accommodated in the
Children Detention Schools, Oberstown. All boys under
17 years are also
accommodated in Oberstown. The Government has approved a construction project
for the redevelopment of the Oberstown
campus and planning and procurement for
this development is at an advanced stage. The redeveloped facilities will allow
for the accommodation
of 17-year-old boys who are currently detained in St.
Patrick’s Institution.
- The
investigative powers of the Ombudsman for Children (OCO) have been extended to
include boys under the age of 18 who are detained
in St. Patrick’s
Institution.
Sexual exploitation and abuse
- The
Committee recommends that the State party collect information and undertake
research on child prostitution, pornography and other
forms of sexual
exploitation and sexual abuse of children with a view to developing targeted
measures, and requests the State party
to provide detailed information in that
respect in its next report.
- The
Anti-Human Trafficking Unit of the Department of Justice and Equality collects
and publishes data on instances of alleged human
trafficking, including
trafficking for the purposes of sexual exploitation, involving children. This
information is provided by An
Garda Síochána and NGOs, and is made
available in the Anti-Human Trafficking Unit’s Annual Reports, which are
accessible online via Ireland’s dedicated anti-human trafficking website,
www.blueblindfold.gov.ie.
These data are used by State officials and other relevant stakeholders to
inform policy development and service provision in the field
of anti-human
trafficking.
- The
DCYA, in conjunction with the Irish Research Council for the Humanities and
Social Sciences, is funding research on child sexualisation
and
commercialisation under the 2012 Research Development Initiative.
- The
HSE collates and publishes figures on an annual basis regarding the numbers of
and primary reasons for victims of child abuse
being admitted to care in the
annual Review of Adequacy of HSE Children and Family
Services. The latest figures relate to 2010, during which 687
children were admitted to care for reasons of abuse, with 63 children (3% of the
total number of children admitted
to care) being admitted to care due to sexual
abuse (HSE, 2012a). This marks an increase from the 24 children admitted to care
for
this reason in 2006, but a decrease in the proportion of sexual abuse cases,
which stood at 5.7% in 2006.
- There
were 2,248 children admitted to care in 2011. This represented a decrease of
5.2% (n=124) since the high point in 2009. The
primary reasons for admission to
care and care status were recorded for 2,218 of the children admitted to care
(see Table 1). About
62% (n=1,382) of children were admitted to care
voluntarily. For 50% (n=1,103), the primary reason related to family problems.
More
children were admitted to care for abuse (35%, n=772) than in 2010 (30%,
n=687). The largest individual primary categories were “Parent
unable to
cope/family difficulty re. housing/finance etc.” (22%, n=480),
“Neglect” (22%, n=483) and “Family member abusing
drugs/alcohol” (12%, n=262). Compared to 2010, there were increases
during 2011 for both “Neglect” (2010: 17%, n=398) and “Family
member abusing drugs/alcohol” (2010: 10%,
n=231).
Table
1
Primary reason for admission to care, by care status
(2011)
Primary reason for admission
|
Care status
|
Emergency court order
|
Other court order
|
Admitted voluntarily
|
Total
|
%
|
Abuse
|
202
|
265
|
305
|
772
|
35
|
Physical abuse
|
35
|
55
|
79
|
169
|
8
|
Sexual abuse
|
4
|
20
|
9
|
33
|
1
|
Emotional abuse
|
32
|
21
|
34
|
87
|
4
|
Neglect
|
131
|
169
|
183
|
483
|
22
|
Child problems
|
30
|
52
|
261
|
343
|
15
|
Child with emotional/behavioural problems
|
13
|
29
|
164
|
206
|
9
|
Child abusing drugs/alcohol
|
4
|
4
|
18
|
26
|
1
|
Child involved in crime
|
0
|
0
|
5
|
5
|
0
|
Child pregnancy
|
0
|
1
|
6
|
7
|
0
|
Physical illness/disability in child
|
3
|
3
|
14
|
20
|
1
|
Mental health problem/intellectual disability in child
|
1
|
6
|
9
|
16
|
1
|
Other
|
9
|
9
|
45
|
63
|
3
|
Family problems
|
108
|
179
|
816
|
1,103
|
50
|
Parent unable to cope/family difficulty re. housing/finance, etc.
|
16
|
43
|
421
|
480
|
22
|
Family member abusing drugs/alcohol
|
39
|
77
|
146
|
262
|
12
|
Domestic violence
|
8
|
14
|
12
|
34
|
2
|
Physical illness/disability in other family member
|
3
|
1
|
27
|
31
|
1
|
Mental health problem/intellectual disability in other family member
|
24
|
16
|
94
|
134
|
6
|
Separated children seeking asylum
|
0
|
5
|
4
|
9
|
0
|
Other
|
18
|
23
|
112
|
153
|
7
|
Total
|
340
|
496
|
1,382
|
2,218
|
100%
|
%
|
15%
|
22%
|
62%
|
100%
|
|
Source: HSE.
Sale and trafficking
- In
line with Articles 34 and 35 of the Convention, the Committee reiterates
the recommendation by the Committee on the Elimination
of Discrimination Against
Women (CEDAW/C/IRL/CO/4-5, 22 July 2005) on, inter alia, the adoption and
implementation of a comprehensive
strategy to combat trafficking, and the
measures to be put in place for the physical and psychological recovery and
social reintegration
of victims of trafficking, including the provision of
shelter, counselling and medical care. The Committee requests the State party
to
provide in its next report further information and data on trafficking in
particular with respect to children.
- The
Criminal Law (Human Trafficking) Act 2008 updated the law on the trafficking of
children. Under the Act, a person found guilty
of trafficking a child for the
purposes of sexual exploitation, labour exploitation or the removal of organs is
liable to life imprisonment.
The legislation also criminalises the sale and
purchase of children for any purpose, with life imprisonment also being the
maximum
penalty for this.
- In
2009, Ireland produced its first report regarding potential and suspected
victims of human trafficking. This report stated that,
of the 66 cases of
potential and suspected trafficking in human beings which came to the attention
of An Garda Síochána,
17 were minors. In the 2010 Annual Report, a
total of 69 cases of alleged trafficking in human beings were reported, 19 of
which
involved minors.
- In
February 2008, the Anti-Human Trafficking Unit was established in the Department
of Justice and Equality, and in 2009 the National
Action Plan to Prevent and
Combat Trafficking in Human Beings in Ireland, 2009-2012 was published by the
Minister for Justice and
Equality.
- Ireland
also ratified the Council of Europe Convention on Action against Trafficking in
Human Beings, which came into effect in Ireland
on 1 November 2010. Ireland also
ratified the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons,
especially Women and
Children, which came into effect in Ireland on 17 July
2010. Ireland cooperates with other police forces, agencies and international
organisations in an effort to combat human trafficking.
- The
National Referral Mechanism is the term used to describe (i) the process by
which a suspected victim of human trafficking is identified;
(ii) the range of
assistance and support services available to potential and suspected victims of
human trafficking; and (iii) how
potential and suspected victims are referred to
or can apply for access to each of those services.
- The
HSE provides assistance, support and protection to child victims of trafficking
and in doing so considers the best interests of
each child on a basis of
individual assessment, including a risk assessment which is conducted in each
case. The aim is to cater
for each child’s specific needs as they present,
with the long-term safety and welfare of the child in mind. This encompasses
a
multitude of actions and factors, including age, abilities, resilience and
circumstances.
Children belonging to minorities
- The
Committee recommends that the State party:
(a) Work more
concretely towards the recognition of the Traveller community as an ethnic group
as called for by the Committee on the
Elimination of Racial Discrimination
(CERC/C/IRL/CO/2 para. 20);
(b) Undertake or use existing research or comprehensive needs assessment
with a particular focus on children belonging to the Traveller
community in the
fields of health, housing and education to further serve as a basis for policies
and strategies and concrete measures
for the improvement of the well-being of
the children;
(c) Implement the recommendations of the Task Force on the Traveller
community; and
(d) Provide in its next report detailed information on measures taken in
order to enhance the enjoyment of the rights of children
belonging to the
Traveller community, in particular with regard to enjoyment and access to
education, health services and housing
facilities.
- The
Committee requests the State party to provide further detailed information in
its next report (in respect of measures to promote
the Irish language and
culture, and prevent the marginalisation and social exclusion of Roma
children).
- Members
of the Traveller community in Ireland have the same civil and political rights
as all other citizens under the Constitution. The key anti-discrimination
measures – the Prohibition of Incitement to Hatred Act 1989, the Unfair
Dismissals Acts 1977,
the Employment Equality Acts and the Equal Status Act
– specifically identify membership of the Traveller community as an
equality
ground. The Equality Act 2004, which transposed measures from 3 EU
Equality Directives, applied all protections contained within
the Directives
across all 9 grounds contained in Ireland’s pre-existing equality
legislation, including that of membership
of the Traveller community. The
legislation also protects racial and ethnic groups as a specific ground.
- During
the course of the examination, conducted by a working group of the Human Rights
Council, of Ireland’s report to that
Council prepared under the universal
periodic review procedures, one delegation specifically recommended that Ireland
should recognise
Travellers as an ethnic minority. A conference organised by the
National Traveller Movement Advisory Committee took place in September
2012 to
explore the issue of recognition of Travellers as an ethnic minority. This
matter is currently being considered by the Department
of Justice and
Equality.
- The
Report and Recommendations for a Traveller Education Strategy (2006) was
published in response to recommendations contained in the Report of the Task
Force on the Travelling Community, published by the Government of Ireland in
1995. Specific measures to address the needs of children of the Traveller
community –
including the Traveller Education Strategy, the
Intercultural Education Strategy and the Traveller Accommodation
Strategy – are referred to in previous sections of this report and are
described in further detail in subsequent chapters.
- The
National Intercultural Health Strategy, 2007-2012 recognises Travellers as
Ireland’s most long-standing cultural minority
group and one that is at
greater risk of poor health. Further, it recognises that Traveller children are
at particular risk. This
applies equally to Roma children, who are an especially
vulnerable group, and considerable work has taken place around this area.
HSE
National Social Inclusion was able to facilitate the appointment of a Roma
Outreach worker, with a remit of linking families
into health services. A series
of seminars was co-hosted by the HSE and Pavee Point on issues faced by this
group, as well as by
service providers in responding to their needs. Issues of
child protection were the focus of one seminar and a report is due to be
signed
off imminently in relation to this. There is ongoing inter-agency work on
advancing care priorities of vulnerable children,
including Traveller and Roma
children. Establishment of a Children First Committee within the Social
Inclusion Care group will incorporate
Traveller representation – this will
facilitate attention to the specific needs of Traveller children.
- In
2010, the Government of Ireland published the 20-Year Strategy for the Irish
Language, 2010-2030. The Programme for Government 2011-2016 supports this
strategy and will attempt to deliver on the achievable goals and targets
proposed.
- Although
the number of schools in Gaeltacht (Irish-speaking) areas has reduced from 153
to just over 100, the number of schools teaching
through the medium of Irish
outside the Gaeltacht increased from 20 in 1975/76 to 141 in
2011/12.
Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of
the Child on the involvement of children in armed conflict
- The
Committee looks forward to receiving, as indicated by the State party, the
initial report on the Optional Protocol to the Convention
on the Rights of the
Child on the involvement of children in armed conflicts which was due in
December 2004.
- Ireland
submitted its first report on the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the
Rights of the Child on the involvement of children
in armed conflict in December
2006.
- The
Minister for Defence has outlined plans to increase the age limit for
recruitment to the Defence Forces from 17 to 18 years. The
State will forward a
full report to the Committee on compliance with the Optional Protocol when new
arrangements have been finalised
by the Minister.
Optional
Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the sale of children,
child prostitution and child pornography
- The
Committee welcomes the signature of the Optional Protocol to the Convention on
the Rights of the Child on the sale of children,
child pornography and
prostitution in 2000 and recommends the ratification of this Optional Protocol
in accordance with the intention
of the State party.
- The
Minister for Children and Youth Affairs has announced her intention to examine
ratification of the Optional Protocol as soon as
possible, following full
consideration of the content of the Protocol with the Minister for Justice and
Equality. The Minister for
Children and Youth Affairs discussed the issue of the
ratification of this Protocol in a meeting with the Special Representative
of
the Secretary-General on Violence against Children, Martha Santos Pais, at a
meeting in Dublin on 11 June 2012 during the Special
Representative’s
official visit to Ireland. It was agreed that the matter would be prioritised
following consideration by the
people of Ireland in the Children’s
Referendum held in 2012, the submission of the State’s next report to the
Committee
on the Rights of the Child, and the setting-up of the new Child and
Family Agency.
- Many
of the criminal law provisions of the Optional Protocol to the Convention have
already been implemented in existing domestic
legislation. Legislative proposals
which the Minister for Justice and Equality intends to bring to Government
shortly will facilitate
full compliance with the criminal law requirements of
the Optional Protocol and other related international legal
instruments.
Follow-up and dissemination (see
chapter 1)
- The
Committee recommends that the State party take all appropriate measures to
ensure full implementation of the present recommendations,
inter alia, by
transmitting them to relevant Departments, Oireachtas (national parliament), and
to relevant local authorities, for
appropriate consideration and further
action.
- The
Committee further recommends that the second periodic report and written replies
submitted by the State party and related recommendations
(concluding
observations) adopted by the Committee be made widely available, including
through Internet (but not exclusively), to
the public at large, civil society
organisations, youth groups, and children in order to generate debate and
awareness of the Convention,
its implementation and monitoring.
- Periodic
reports receive extensive coverage in print and broadcast media, and are made
available to all relevant NGOs via the Children’s
Rights Alliance. The
reports, along with copies of the concluding observations, are also placed on
Irish Government websites through
the DCYA. A limited number of copies are
retained for the use of students, public policy researchers and academics, and
for distribution
on request to schools teaching human rights education
modules.
Next report
- The
Committee invites the State party to submit a consolidated third and fourth
report by 27 April 2009 (that is, the due date of
the fourth report). This is an
exceptional measure due to the large number of reports received by the Committee
every year. This
report should not exceed 120 pages (see CRC/C/118). The
Committee expects the State party to report every five years thereafter,
as
foreseen by the Convention.
- The
State apologises for the delay in submitting these reports and has notified the
Committee accordingly. The Irish economy experienced
a sudden and dramatic
downturn during 2009 and 2010 in particular. It was therefore difficult,
following this period, to accurately
assess the medium- to long-term impacts of
possible adjustments to expenditure and programmes relating to all aspects of
the Government
policy, and the lapsing of a reasonable period of time was
necessary to allow a more accurate picture to emerge of the position in
relation
to services for children generally and the impact on cross-departmental budgets
in particular. This report, covering the
period between 2006 and 2011, details
the years of economic growth up to 2008 and the subsequent period of recession
up to 2011 and
beyond. The State believes that this report is, therefore, a more
accurate and reliable picture of the ways in which the Convention
has been
implemented in Ireland in recent years. This report also encompasses changes in
administrative responsibilities consequent
on the establishment of
Ireland’s first-ever Department of Children and Youth Affairs, in
2011.
Format of the current report
- The
remainder of this report is presented in line with the guidelines of the
Committee on the Rights of the Child Treaty regarding
the form and content of
periodic reports to be submitted by State parties under Article 44,
Paragraph 1(b) of the Convention on the
Rights of the
Child.[4] These guidelines provide
specific chapter titles and subheadings under which States parties are requested
to offer reports. These
titles and subheadings are reproduced in the following
pages of this report as they appear in the Committee’s
guidelines.
I. General measures of
implementation
- In
brief, Ireland ratified the Convention on the Rights of the Child without
reservation on 21 September 1992. Ireland operates a
“dualist”
system, whereby the Constitution permits the State to enter into international
agreements. However, the Constitution also provides that such agreements do not
become part of domestic law unless provided for by the Oireachtas by way of
national legislation.
Therefore, while Ireland ratified the Convention on the
Rights of the Child, the Convention did not automatically become part of
Irish
law.
A. Measures taken to harmonise
national law and policy with the provisions of the Convention and Optional
Protocols
The status of children as rights holders
- In
its concluding observations on Ireland’s initial and second reports, the
UN Committee recommended that Ireland undertake
measures to reinforce the status
of children as rights-holders. In February 2007, the Government presented the
Twenty-eighth Amendment
of the Constitution Bill 2007 to Dáil
Éireann. The Bill proposed the insertion of a new Article 42(A)
dedicated to children into the Constitution. A Joint Committee on the
Constitutional Amendment on Children (JCCAC) was established and produced its
final report to the Government
in February 2010. The report dealt with the
rights of children under the Constitution and the statute and case law
concerning adoption, guardianship, care proceedings, custody and access. A copy
of the third and final
report of the JCCAC was presented to Cabinet in March
2010.
- The
Programme for Government 2011-2016 identified the holding of a referendum on
children’s rights as a priority and stated
that the wording should be
along the lines of that proposed by the All-Party Oireachtas Committee. The
wording proposed by the Government
for approval by the people in a referendum
was set out in the Thirty-first Amendment of the Constitution (Children) Bill
2012, which was published in September 2012. The Bill, which attracted all-party
support, completed its passage through
the Houses of the Oireachtas (Parliament)
without amendment on 3 October 2012. The Children’s Referendum was held in
November
2012, with a majority of votes in favour of the proposed Constitutional
amendment; 58% of those who voted approved the Amendment
to the Constitution.
However, under general referendum legislation, a challenge to the validity of
the referendum result has been initiated in the Irish
High Court. The matter of
referring the Bill to the President for signing into law, and to give effect to
the Constitutional changes
concerned, must await determination by the Courts of
the legal challenge made.
- In
the standalone referendum conducted in November, the people voted on the
following changes to the Constitution:
- The deletion of
existing Article 42.5, which states:
“In
exceptional cases, where the parents for physical or moral reasons fail in their
duty towards their children, the State
as guardian of the common good, by
appropriate means shall endeavour to supply the place of the parents, but always
with due regard
for the natural and imprescriptible rights of the
child.”
- The insertion of
a new Article 42A entitled “Children”, which
states:
“1. The State recognises and affirms the natural and
imprescriptible rights of all children and shall, as far as practicable,
by its
laws protect and vindicate those rights.
- 1. In
exceptional cases, where the parents, regardless of their marital status, fail
in their duty towards their children to such
extent that the safety or welfare
of any of their children is likely to be prejudicially affected, the State as
guardian of the common
good shall, by proportionate means as provided by law,
endeavour to supply the place of the parents, but always with due regard for
the
natural and imprescriptible rights of the child.
- Provision
shall be made by law for the adoption of any child where the parents have failed
for such a period of time as may be prescribed
by law in their duty towards the
child and where the best interests of the child so
require.
3. Provision shall be made by law for the
voluntary placement for adoption and the adoption of any child.
4. 1. Provision shall be made by law that in the resolution of all
proceedings –
i. brought by the State, as guardian of the common good, for the purpose of
preventing the safety and welfare of any child from being
prejudicially
affected, or
ii. concerning the adoption, guardianship or custody of, or access to, any
child,
the best interests of the child shall be the paramount consideration.
- Provision
shall be made by law for securing, as far as practicable, that in all
proceedings referred to in subsection 1 of this section in respect of any
child who is capable of forming his or her own views, the views of the child
shall be ascertained
and given due weight having regard to the age and maturity
of the child.”
Optional Protocol to the Convention on the
Rights of the Child on the involvement of children in armed conflict
- Ireland
signed the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the
involvement of children in armed conflict
in September 2000 and ratified the
instrument in November 2002. In doing so, Ireland agreed to take all feasible
measures to ensure
that members of the Defence Forces who have not attained 18
years of age do not take a direct part in hostilities. In the period
since 2002,
Ireland has been fully compliant with the Optional Protocol.
- While
the minimum age for recruitment to the Defence Forces remained at 17 years, it
was in fact unlikely that any member of the Defence
Forces would be assigned to
any operational duties under the age of 18, given training requirements, etc. In
addition, personnel
under 18 are precluded from overseas service as a matter of
policy.
- The
issue of the minimum recruitment age for members of the Permanent Defence Force
was recently reviewed by the Department of Defence
and the military authorities.
In June 2012, the Minister for Defence approved an increase in the minimum age
for recruitment to the
Permanent Defence Force from 17 to 18. In addition, the
minimum age for the recruitment of apprentices in the Defence Forces will
be
increased to 18 years. This change will be implemented by means of an amendment
to the relevant Defence Force Regulations. Work
on the proposed regulatory
amendments is currently underway.
- Competitions
for enlisted personnel and officer cadets were in train prior to the change in
policy and the lower recruitment age limit
of 17 will continue to apply for
these competitions. However, the increase in the minimum age will apply to any
new competition advertised.
Hence, the minimum age for the competition for new
apprentices which has been advertised since the age change was approved is 18
years of age.
- The
current minimum age for recruitment to the Reserve Defence Force remains at 17.
A review of the Reserve is currently ongoing and
further consideration as to the
appropriate minimum age for enlistment to the Reserve will be considered in that
context. It should
be noted that members of the Reserve are not considered to
have been trained to the minimum standard required for Reserve operations
until
they have completed their “Three Star Private” course. Given that
this is normally conducted in the second year
of service, they cannot therefore
participate in operations until they are at least 18 years of age. As a matter
of policy, Reserve
personnel are not eligible for any operational military
duties until they are at least 18 years old. In addition, members of the
Reserve
are precluded from “Aid to Civil Power” operations within the State
and cannot serve overseas.
Optional Protocol to the Convention
on the Rights of the Child on the sale of children, child prostitution and child
pornography
- The
Criminal Law (Human Trafficking) Act 2008 was enacted on 7 June 2008. It
criminalises human trafficking for the purposes of sexual
exploitation, labour
exploitation and exploitation for the purpose of removal of human organs. It
also criminalises the sale or purchase
of any person for any purpose. Under
Section 5 of the Act, it is an offence to knowingly solicit a trafficked
person, in any place,
for the purpose of prostitution. For the purposes of the
legislation, “child” means a person under the age of 18 years.
- The
Immigration, Residence and Protection Bill 2010, when enacted, will put in place
an integrated statutory framework for the development
and implementation of the
Government immigration policies. It provides for a period of recovery and
reflection of 60 days in the
State for suspected adult victims of trafficking
who require immigration permission, and the granting of a renewable period of 6
months of residence to allow the suspected victim to continue to assist the
Garda Síochána or other relevant authorities
with any
investigation or prosecution arising in relation to the alleged trafficking.
These arrangements are currently provided on
an administrative basis and provide
that, in the case of a person below the age of 18 years being identified as a
suspected victim
of human trafficking, a recovery and reflection period greater
than 60 days may be granted. In determining such a duration, regard
will be
given to whether the child is in the care of the HSE or a parent or legal
guardian who is taking responsibility for him/her,
and the status of his/her
parent or legal guardian in the State.
Optional Protocol to the
Convention on the Rights of the Child on a communications procedure
- The
third Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child will
provide for a communications procedure to be introduced
to the Convention. This
Optional Protocol would supplement the State reporting process under the
Convention.
- The
Protocol addresses a policy area for which the Minister for Children and Youth
Affairs has primary responsibility. The DCYA will
therefore coordinate
consideration of the Protocol by relevant Government departments and agencies,
and make a recommendation to
the Government regarding whether Ireland should
become a party to it. As part of the process of drafting the current report, the
DCYA has brought the introduction of the Protocol to the attention of all the
Government departments. If the conclusion is reached
that the State should
become a party to it, the DCYA will in due course prepare a submission to the
Government seeking approval to
arrange for its signature, subject to
ratification, on behalf of Ireland. This will be done in cooperation with the
Department of
Foreign Affairs and Trade. In order to allow for due consideration
of the new Optional Protocol by all relevant Government departments,
a
recommendation will be issued in due course by the Minister for Children and
Youth Affairs.
National legislative updates
- In
addition to the legislative provisions detailed in previous reports and those
outlined above, the following legislative changes
have occurred since 2006 that
further enhance and protect children’s rights in Irish law:
- Criminal Law
(Sexual Offences) Act 2006 came into operation in June 2006. It updated the
existing provisions in Irish criminal law concerning the protection of children
under the age of 17 from sexual abuse and exploitation. The legislation
provides, inter alia, for a higher maximum penalty for the
defilement of a 15 or
16 year-old child where the offender is a person in authority.
- Criminal Law
(Sexual Offences) (Amendment) Act 2007 increased the penalties in the 2006
Act for attempt offences and updated the offence of meeting or travelling with
the intention
of meeting a child for the purposes of sexual exploitation.
- Child Care
(Amendment) Act 2007 amended the Child Care Act 1991, as well as making
amendments to the Children Act 2001. Its principal purpose was to provide that
a
foster parent or a relative who has had a child in their care for a continuous
period of 5 years, the child having been placed
with them by the HSE, may apply
for a court order for increased autonomy in relation to the care of the child.
It amended Section
77 of the Children Act 2001 in relation to Family
Welfare Conferencing, as well as Section 29 of the Child Care Act 1991,
which provides
that child care court proceedings are held in private, to allow
for reporting of those proceedings by specified persons in specified
circumstances.
- Health Act
2007 established the Social Services Inspectorate (SSI) on a statutory basis
as the Office of the Chief Inspector of Social Services within
the Health
Information and Quality Authority (HIQA). This is in line with the concluding
observations of the UN Committee on Ireland’s
second report (NCO, 2005a).
The SSI conducts inspections of statutory residential child care services (i.e.
services managed by the
HSE, formerly the health boards), under statutory powers
contained in Section 69 of the Child Care Act 1991.
- Adoption Act
2010 incorporated the provisions of the Hague Convention and was designed to
provide a framework to ensure that appropriate procedures
have been followed and
that all adoptions are effected in the best interests of the child. It gives
force of law to the Hague Convention
on Protection of Children and Cooperation
in respect of Intercountry Adoption, which entered into force for Ireland on
1 November
2010.
- Criminal
Procedure Act 2010 amended the law on victim impact evidence and included
special provision for victims of crime who are children. The special provisions
allow that any child who wishes to give evidence to the sentencing court about
the impact of the crime may generally do so by means
of a live television link.
In the case of a child who is under 14 years of age, the child or the parent or
guardian may give the
evidence to the court.
- Child Care
(Amendment) Act 2011 created a statutory framework for the High Court to
deal with Special Care cases rather than the court employing its inherent
jurisdiction.
The Act allows Special Care Units to be registered and inspected
by HIQA.
- Criminal
Justice (Female Genital Mutilation) Act 2012 made it an offence to remove a
girl from the State for the purposes of undergoing female genital mutilation
(FGM), allows for the
prosecution of any individual who performs the act in
another jurisdiction in which FGM is illegal on a woman/girl usually resident
in
Ireland, removes the argument of consent or culture as a defence, explicitly
refers to FGM as a human rights violation and a form
of gender-based violence,
protects medical professionals by providing clarity on what does and does not
constitute FGM, and provides
protection for victims during legal
proceedings.
- Criminal
Justice (Withholding Information on Crimes against Children and Vulnerable
Adults) Act 2012 made it an offence to fail to disclose information to An
Garda Síochána where a serious criminal offence against a
child or
vulnerable adult has been committed. The Act specifically extended to children
and other vulnerable persons a protection
which has existed in Irish law since
the Offences Against the State (Amendment) Act 1998.
- National
Vetting Bureau (Children and Vulnerable Persons) Act 2012 provides a
statutory basis for the use of Garda criminal records in the vetting of persons
applying for employment working with children
or vulnerable adults. The Act also
provides for the use of “soft” information in regard to vetting:
this is information
other than criminal convictions where such information leads
to a bona-fide belief that a person poses a threat to children or vulnerable
persons.
- In
addition, the following legislative proposal has been published by the
Government and is currently being advanced in line with
the legislative
process:
- Children
First Bill 2013: The General Scheme and Heads of Bill of the Children First
Bill were published and referred to the Oireachtas Committee on Health
and
Children for consultation. Under the Children First Bill, it is intended to
ensure that obligations that arise under Children
First: National Guidance for
the Protection and Welfare of Children (DCYA, 2011) will operate together with
the obligations set out
under the proposed legislation. Following enactment of
the Bill, the principles and guidelines set out in Children First will continue
to be implemented and due regard is to be given to Children First. The Committee
on Health and Children engaged in a consultation
process with organisations and
individuals working in the children area and provided its extensive report on 5
July 2012. The Department
of Children and Youth Affairs is giving ongoing
consideration to the significant policy, operational and legal issues that have
emerged
from the views of the Oireachtas Committee in the context of the further
development of the General Scheme and Heads of Bill in advance
of proceeding
with the drafting of the Bill.
National policy
initiatives
- A
number of important national policy initiatives have been developed since 2006,
including:
- Towards 2016:
Ten-year Framework Social Partnership Agreement, 2006-2016 (Department of An
Taoiseach, 2007);
- The Agenda for
Children’s Services: A Policy Handbook (OMC, 2007a);
- National Action
Plan for Social Inclusion, 2007-2016: Building an Inclusive Society (Government
of Ireland, 2007);
- Report of the
Commission to Inquire into Child Abuse: Implementation Plan (OMCYA, 2009);
- Intercultural
Education Strategy, 2010-2015 (Department of Education and Skills and the Office
of the Minister for Integration, 2010);
- Forum on
Patronage and Pluralism in the Primary Sector (Coolahan et al., 2012);
- Literacy and
Numeracy for Learning and Life: The National Strategy to Improve Literacy and
Numeracy among Children and Young People,
2011-2020 (Department of Education and
Skills, 2011a);
- The National
Strategy for Research and Data on Children’s Lives, 2011-2016 (DCYA,
2011a);
- Guidance for
Developing Ethical Research Projects involving Children (DCYA, 2012b);
- National
Standards for the Protection and Welfare of Children (HIQA,
2012a).
- The
substance and impact of these and other policy initiatives are referred to in
relevant sections of this
report.
B. Steps taken to adopt and
implement a comprehensive National Children’s Strategy within the
framework of the Convention
- The
National Children’s Strategy, 2000-2010: Our Children – Their Lives,
was a Government strategy based on extensive
consultation with parents,
children, statutory agencies and NGOs that work with children, and underpinned
by the Convention on the
Rights of the Child. Its primary aim was to provide a
blueprint for the improvement of children’s lives, especially those who
experience disadvantage or have atypical needs. The strategy was implemented
over a 10-year period.
- The
Department of Children and Youth Affairs (DCYA) is currently developing a new
strategy, called the National Children and Young
People’s Policy
Framework. This will build on the goals of Ireland’s first National
Children’s Strategy, which
were to ensure (1) that children have a voice
in matters that affect them, (2) that their lives are better understood, and (3)
that
they will receive quality supports and services to promote all aspects of
their development. The new Policy Framework will provide
a seamless,
whole-of-childhood approach to policymaking. It is intended to be the
overarching framework for the future development
of meaningful policies and
services across Government aimed towards improving outcomes for children and
young people. The new framework
will encompass children and young people up to
the age of 25. This is congruent with the Department’s legislative
accountability,
which covers children and young people in this age
cohort.[5]
- The
forthcoming Children and Young People’s Policy Framework is being
developed in a holistic way to comprehend the continuum
of the life course
– from infancy, through early and middle childhood, to adolescence through
to early adulthood – in
keeping with the Department’s
responsibilities for children and young people. The high-level policy framework
will facilitate
the preparation of a number of more detailed age-related
strategies, including an Early Years Strategy, a Youth Strategy, and a further
strategy that will address issues related to Middle Childhood.
- Children’s
participation has been a central aspect of the development of the new Children
and Young People’s Policy Framework
(see paras.
247-248).
C. Coordination of the
implementation of the Convention and Optional Protocols
- The
coordination of the implementation of the UN Convention and its Optional
Protocols rests with the Department of Children and Youth
Affairs (DCYA). The
DCYA was established in June 2011, building on the previous Office of the
Minister for Children and Youth Affairs
(OMCYA). The DCYA consolidates a range
of functions that were previously the responsibilities of the Ministers for
Health, Education
and Skills, Justice and Equality, and the former Department of
Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs. It brings together a number
of key areas
of policy and provision for children and young people, including the OMCYA, and
responsibility for overseeing the National
Educational Welfare Board, the Family
Support Agency, the Adoption Authority of Ireland and the Children Detention
Schools (operated
by the Irish Youth Justice Service).
- The
mandate of the DCYA encompasses a wide range of policy and service activity,
both direct and indirect, for children and young
people in Ireland, which will
be referred to in relevant sections throughout this report. It has a complex
mandate, comprised of
a number of separate but interrelated strands:
- The provision of
a range of universal and targeted services;
- The monitoring
and oversight of a service delivery system;
- The development
of legislation and policy to ensure the provision of high-quality arrangements
for focused interventions dealing with
child welfare and protection, family
support, adoption, school attendance and the reduction of youth crime;
- The
harmonisation of policy and provision across Government, with a wide range of
stakeholders, to improve outcomes for children,
young people and
families.
- The
current Programme for Government 2011-2016 sets out a number of high-level
priorities in relation to children that now fall under
the remit of the DCYA.
These include:
- Holding a
Constitutional Referendum in relation to the rights of children under the
Constitution;
- The
establishment of a Child and Family Agency (CFA) on a statutory basis, with the
aim of fundamentally reforming the delivery of
child protection services and
removing responsibility for these from the Health Service Executive (HSE);
- Implementing the
recommendations of the Report of the Commission to Inquire into Child Abuse
2009 (known as the Ryan Report), including setting the Children First:
National Guidance on a statutory footing and legislating for the use of
“soft” information;
- Maintaining the
free preschool year in early childhood care and education (ECCE) and improving
its quality as resources allow;
- Enacting
legislation to consolidate and reform laws regarding adoption;
- Investing in a
targeted early childhood education programme for disadvantaged children,
building on existing targeted preschool supports
for families most in need of
assistance;
- Ending the
practice of sending children to St. Patrick’s Institution.
- Progress
on these priorities will be referred to in relevant sections of this report.
- The
National Children’s Strategy Implementation Group (NCSIG) was originally
established under the terms of Towards 2016, the
national social partnership
agreement for 2006-2016. This high-level group is chaired by the DCYA. The NCSIG
aims to ensure that
children, young people and their families receive the
support and services needed to create better futures for children through the
cooperation of all local agencies and organisations, and to avoid duplication of
effort, support sensible collaboration in service
delivery and provide
opportunities for agencies to assess the gaps sometimes caused by agency or
service boundaries. The model for
integrated service delivery is being developed
through the establishment of Children’s Services Committees (CSCs) on a
phased
basis (see para. 217).
- The
Mid-Term Review of the National Children’s Strategy (Peyton and
Wilson, 2006) highlighted that progress was evident in areas with good
interdepartmental and multi-agency coordination,
among other factors. However,
the review noted that coordination issues remained, including a lack of control
of central budgetary
resources in areas covered by the strategy. The greater
centralisation of children’s services, policies and programmes under
the
newly established DCYA has addressed a number of these issues.
- The
commitment to establish a new Child and Family Agency is at the heart of the
Government’s reform of child and family services.
The establishment of
this agency, which is to be underpinned by legislation and will incorporate key
children and family services,
will provide a focus for the major reforms already
underway. This reform programme contains a number of critical elements:
- Continuing the
major cultural change required for the delivery of child-centred, transparent,
quality-assured, professionally reflective
and accountable services to children
and their families;
- Implementing
consistent child protection procedures in line with the revised 2011 national
guidelines, entitled Children First: National Guidance for the Protection and
Welfare of Children;
- Continuing the
reforms necessary to provide safer, more reliable and effective services for
children in care;
- Continuing
implementation of the 2009 Report of the Commission to Inquire into Child Abuse
(Ryan Report);
- Workforce
development and improved collaboration with the community and voluntary
sector.
- Extensive
work is underway in the DCYA and HSE to establish the Child and Family Agency.
The Report of the Task Force on the Child and Family Support Agency,
published in July 2012, will inform the development of legislation to establish
the agency (DCYA, 2012b).
Local structures
- Commencing
in 2007, the DCYA established Children’s Services Committees (CSCs) on a
phased basis, with 16 currently in place.
CSCs provide a structure for bringing
together a diverse group of major agencies in local county areas with the aim of
engaging in
the joint planning of services for children. All major organisations
and agencies working locally on behalf of children and young
people are
represented on the CSCs and most also have membership from the NGO sector. These
committees are responsible for improving
the lives of children and families at
local and community levels through integrated planning, working and service
delivery. Their
overall purpose is to secure better developmental outcomes for
children. The Centre for Effective Services (CES) has been working
with the DCYA
to support the development and operation of the CSCs. The CES has commissioned
and published a review of international
best practice in inter-agency working
for improved outcomes for children (CES, 2011) and has also produced findings
from the initial
pilot stages of the CSC initiative (CES,
2010).
D. Budgetary allocation for
the implementation of the Convention and Optional Protocols
- Due
to the complex cross-sectoral nature of the issues that impact on
children’s lives, there is at present no single budget
stream specifically
allocated to this area. Instead, each government department and agency concerned
with children (such as Education,
Health, etc.) maintains and manages its own
budget and reports on expenditure. The resource allocations made available to
the DCYA
for the provision of the range of services and programmes administered
by it in 2011 and 2012 are set out in
Table 2.
Table
2
Resource allocations made to the DCYA, 2011-2012
2011 provisional outturn
|
Programme expenditure
|
2012 estimate
|
Current €000
|
Capital €000
|
Total €000
|
Current €000
|
Capital €000
|
Total €000
|
85,227
|
–
|
85,227
|
A. Children and Family Support Programme
|
86,009
|
350
|
86,359
|
305,709
|
10,292
|
316,001
|
B. Sectoral Programmes for Children and Young People
|
311,927
|
8,000
|
319,927
|
17,935
|
–
|
17,935
|
C. Policy and Legislation Programme |
20,694
|
–
|
20,694
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
408,871
|
10,292
|
419,163
|
Gross total
|
418,630
|
8,350
|
426,980
|
5,676
|
–
|
5,676
|
Less Appropriations-in-Aid
|
12,223
|
–
|
12,223
|
403,195
|
10,292
|
413,487
|
Net total
|
406,407
|
8,350
|
414,757
|
- Due
to the recent economic downturn experienced by Ireland since 2009 in particular,
budgets to virtually all government departments
and State agencies have been
reduced. However, the budget of the DCYA has remained relatively stable, with an
allocation of €419
million in 2011 and €427 million in 2012. The
increased funding provision reflected certain key priorities and costs of
demographic
pressures. The estimated budgetary allocation to the Department of
Education and Skills for primary and secondary level education
(current and
capital expenditure) decreased slightly, from €6.73 billion in 2009 to
€6.48 billion in 2010 and €6.35
billion in
2011.
E. International assistance
and development aid related
to the Convention
- The
principles of the UN Convention are reflected in Ireland’s bilateral and
multilateral aid programmes. Ireland provided €675
million in official
development assistance (ODA) in 2010.
- Ireland
contributes to key multilateral organisations that assist children, including
the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF),
World Health Organization
(WHO), United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), Office of the United Nations High
Commissioner for Refugees
(UNHCR), International Organization for Migration
(IOM), World Food Programme (WFP) and World Bank.
- Overseas
development is integral to Ireland’s foreign policy. The
Government’s aid programme, Irish Aid, is managed by
the Department of
Foreign Affairs and Trade. Poverty reduction, to reduce vulnerability and
increase opportunity, is the overarching
objective of the aid programme. The
fight against global hunger is a cornerstone of the programme, especially
focused on women and
children, and is heavily concentrated in some of the
poorest countries in sub-Saharan Africa. Irish Aid has a strong focus on gender
equality and seeks to contribute to the achievement of equality for men and
women, boys and girls. The programme aims to ensure equal
access for girls and
boys to health and education. Preventing and responding to gender-based violence
is another important priority,
including making school a safe place to learn for
all children.
- The
second Millennium Development Goal (MDG 2) calls for the achievement of
universal primary education. Access to and the quality
of education continues to
be a priority of the Irish Aid programme. If the life-enhancing benefits of
education are to be realised,
the quality of education must improve. The core
objective of Ireland’s support to education within its development
cooperation
programme is to continue to strive to get the most marginalised into
school and to improve the quality of education.
- Support
for MDG 2 has had a major influence on the evolution of Ireland’s
development cooperation policy in the education sector
since the start of the
millennium. There is a continued recognition of the importance of basic
education, but also that other subsectors
are vital to achieving it. Over 50% of
Ireland’s education spend is provided directly to its programme countries
in sub-Saharan
Africa to strengthen national education systems. The Global
Partnership for Education is also an important partner for Ireland in
its
response to the international education challenge. The Global
Partnership’s focus on girls’ education, fragile States
and
improving quality are very much in line with Ireland’s focus. Ireland also
supports UNICEF, which has considerable experience
in education in fragile
States and in the provision of much-needed technical support to address
education bottlenecks.
- Child
health and nutrition remain a high priority in Ireland’s international
development programme. Since 2005, the world has
witnessed impressive reductions
in child mortality in developing countries and Ireland has made major
contributions attributable
to these improvements. Ireland has contributed to the
reduction in childhood deaths from malaria and AIDS in a number of African
countries through supporting the work of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS,
Tuberculosis and Malaria.
- Ireland’s
focus in its health sector support to countries emphasizes systems
strengthening, country ownership and in-country
leadership. As a result, service
delivery and access to essential services has improved for children and their
mothers.
- Good
nutrition during the 1,000 days between pregnancy and the age of 2 years
contributes to good health, reduces child mortality
and contributes to
educational achievement. Highlighting this previously neglected issue at a
global level, Ireland and the United
States of America hosted the 1,000 Days:
Change a Life, Change the Future high-level event at the United Nations Summit
on the Millennium
Development Goals on 21 September 2010. This meeting
proved to be a significant landmark as a new global movement, Scaling Up
Nutrition
(SUN), was launched, in which Governments, other donor agencies, UN
agencies, civil society, business and academia committed to work
together to
substantively scale up nutrition. Pivotally, agreement was reached to
demonstrate results in the countries suffering
the highest burden of childhood
undernutrition within 1,000 days, i.e. by June 2013. Ireland continues to lead
by example in the
SUN movement, directing funding for new programmes that
integrate nutrition-focused actions across all sectors, including a package
of
essential nutrition actions through country-level health systems.
- Ireland
is playing its part in fighting AIDS, especially in sub-Saharan Africa, where
the epicentre of the pandemic lies. Addressing
HIV/AIDS is fundamental to
Ireland’s stated aim of poverty reduction and human development.
Children affected by HIV and AIDS remain an explicit priority for Irish
Aid. Ireland recognises that a supportive environment is crucial in
this regard,
with a focus on the household and culturally appropriate social protection
networks. School and education protect children
from HIV, and Education for All,
another explicit policy priority for Irish Aid, is thus an essential element of
a comprehensive
response to HIV prevention. Prevention of mother-to-child
transmission of HIV is a proven cost-effective intervention, strongly supported
by Ireland through UN organisations, the Global Fund and the Clinton Foundation,
as is follow-up care and treatment if required.
Irish Aid emphasizes and
advocates for increased focus on effective prevention in a comprehensive and
balanced programme. Adequate
nutrition for mothers with HIV is crucial, not only
for birth outcomes, but also to reduce mother-to-child transmission of HIV. To
this effect, Ireland supports nutrition for pregnant and lactating women with
HIV.
- Ireland’s
financial commitment to support the fight against HIV and AIDS and other
communicable diseases currently stands at
approximately €100 million, of
which investments benefiting children will exceed 20%, thus still honouring the
country’s
pledge made at the General Assembly of the United Nations in
2006.
- Ireland’s
support to civil society incorporates a child health component. Civil society
partners, such as Concern Worldwide
and World Vision, implement health and
nutrition interventions to improve maternal and child health, while also
focusing on increasing
community ownership and strengthening local health
systems. Irish Aid will maintain its focus on the cross-cutting issues of gender
equality, good governance, HIV and AIDS, and environmental sustainability in its
funding to civil society organisations during the
period
2012-2015.
F. National human rights
institutions
- The
Ombudsman for Children’s Office (OCO) was established in 2004 under
the Ombudsman for Children Act 2002, with the aim of promoting and monitoring
the rights of children
in Ireland. The Ombudsman for Children was appointed by
the President of Ireland on the nomination of the Oireachtas (Parliament)
and is
accountable directly to the Oireachtas.
- The
OCO has three principal statutory functions:
- Complaints
and investigations: The OCO may investigate the actions of public
bodies following the receipt of a complaint or of its own volition where it
appears
that the actions of the public body have or may have adversely affected
a child, and where those actions were or may have been the
result of
maladministration. The OCO has dealt with over 6,000 complaints regarding the
administrative actions of public bodies since
its establishment and has
frequently submitted advice to the Government on major legislation relating to
the rights and welfare of
children. The remit of the OCO has recently been
expanded to include the investigation of complaints in relation to 17-year-olds
detained in St. Patrick’s Institution, until such time as the practice of
such detention of children ceases in line with Government
plans (see
para. 704-708).
- Policy and
legislation: The OCO may advise the Government and the Oireachtas on
any matter relating to the rights and welfare of children, including the
operation
of existing or proposed legislation affecting children. The OCO may
also advise public bodies on the development of policies, practices
and
procedures designed to promote the rights and welfare of children.
- Participation
and education: The OCO is obliged to promote awareness among members
of the public, including children, of matters relating to children’s
rights
and welfare. This includes the principles and provisions of the
Convention on the Rights of the Child. The OCO is also obliged to
establish
structures to consult with children and highlight issues relating to
children’s rights and welfare that are of concern
to children themselves.
The Ombudsman for Children has also engaged directly with young people through
participatory projects aimed
at highlighting issues of concern to particular
groups, including separated children seeking asylum, children in detention and
homeless
children. In addition, the OCO runs a programme of human rights
workshops for schools and youth groups, and has engaged with thousands
of
children through this programme since its establishment.
- The
Human Rights Commission (HRC) was established in 2001 to promote, protect
and develop human rights, and to create and foster a human rights culture in the
State. The HRC collaborates with and supports the work of the Ombudsman for
Children (see above) and has acted as amicus curiae (“friend
of the
court”) and provided legal assistance in legal cases involving
children’s rights. The HRC has also advised the
Government and State
bodies in relation to a number of children’s issues, including school
enrolment and religion in education.
- The
Equality Authority’s functions include working towards the
elimination of unlawful discrimination, promoting equality of opportunity and
providing
information on equality legislation to the public. Recent work
includes a resource pack developed for young people and organisations
of young
people dealing with the recognition and combat of stereotyping of and by young
people. Significant progress has also been
made with the Department of Education
and Skills and the education partners in supporting schools in combating
homophobic bullying
and providing a safe and supportive environment for lesbian,
gay and bisexual students. More generally, in 2010 guidelines were developed
for
embedding equality in second-level school development planning.
- Following
a Government decision in 2011, work is now at an advanced stage to merge the
Equality Authority and the Human Rights Commission
into a new Human Rights and
Equality Commission. The purpose of this change is to promote human rights and
equality issues in a more
effective, efficient and cohesive way.
- The
provision of €4.409 million for 2013 in the budget for the new Irish Human
Rights and Equality Commission is a significant
achievement given the current
financial pressures on the public purse. This level of funding maintains the
combined 2012 level of
Exchequer grant-in-aid funding of both bodies and
demonstrates the Government’s strong commitment to strengthening our
institutional
framework for promotion and protection of human rights and
equality. As part of the merger of the Human Rights Commission and the
Equality
Authority, bringing together and integrating two separate staff streams, the new
Commission will, as a priority task, undertake
a review of staffing needs and
prepare a business case for any essential additional staff. It is recognised
that this will have funding
implications, but it will be considered as
favourably as possible even in the current extremely difficult
climate.
G. Disseminating
information on the Convention (children and adults)
- The
National Children’s Strategy was based on extensive consultation with
children, was widely disseminated, and resulted in
the creation of a number of
structures aimed at increasing children’s participation and raising their
awareness of their rights.
These structures are further detailed in chapter
3.
- The
forthcoming National Children and Young People’s Policy Framework is also
informed by extensive consultations with children.
Gaining the views of children
and young people to inform its development has been a priority for the DCYA. In
October 2010, an Oversight
Committee (comprising the DCYA Research Unit, the
Directors of the Second level and Primary Principals Networks, the Student
Council
Coordinator (second level), primary and secondary school teachers,
children and young people from the DCYA Children and Young People’s
Forum
and other key stakeholders) was established by the DCYA Children’s
Participation Unit to oversee a consultation process
with children that aimed to
inform the new Policy Framework.
- In
April 2011, children and young people were invited to complete questionnaires
circulated to all primary and secondary schools,
hospitals, special schools and
Youthreach centres throughout the country. The questions directed at primary
school children were
devised by children themselves through a consultation with
7-12 year-olds conducted by the DCYA. The questions directed at second-level
schoolchildren were devised by young people from a Children and Young
People’s Forum organised by the DCYA.
- A
total of 1,594 schools and 67,000 children responded to these questionnaires,
making this the largest consultation exercise undertaken
with children to date.
A report on this consultation was published in November 2012 (DCYA, 2012c).
- In
addition to consulting with children, the DCYA also invited submissions from the
public on the new Policy Framework. Over 1,000
submissions have been received in
response to this public consultation, which are currently being analysed by the
DCYA.
- The
previous and current Ministers for Children and Youth Affairs have undertaken a
number of consultations with children on various
issues, which have resulted in
published reports that highlight children’s rights and experiences. Since
2006 these have included
(see
Table 3):
Table
3
Consultations with children and subsequent publications
Title of report and year of publication |
Description
|
Report on consultations with teenagers on issues to be considered by the Minister for Children when examining age of consent for sexual
activity (2006) |
210 young people, aged 15-18, were consulted by the Office of the Minister
for Children in five locations around the country.
|
How We See It (2006) |
A report on children and young people’s views of the implementation
of the Convention on the Rights of the Child in Ireland.
|
Giving Young People a Voice: Student Councils in Schools
(2007)
|
Promotes the rights of children and young people to a voice in matters that affect their lives under the Convention on the Rights
of the Child and the National Children’s Strategy. |
Teenagers’ views on solutions to alcohol misuse: Report on a
National Consultation (2008)
|
Outlines the views of 257 teenagers, aged 12-18, on the solutions to
addressing alcohol misuse by young people.
|
Evaluation Report on the Inclusion Programme Office of the Minister for
Children and Youth Affairs (2009)
|
Evaluation of the Inclusion Programme, which supports organisations that
represent or support young people considered “marginalised”
or
“hard to reach”, to encourage them to become involved in child/youth
participation structures and processes.
|
Evaluation Report of the Comhairle na nÓg (Local Youth Councils)
Development Fund for the years 2007-2008, 2008-2009 and 2009-2010
|
Presents the findings of an independent evaluation of the first three years
of the Development Fund.
|
Teenage Mental Health: What Helps and What Hurts? A Report of
Consultations with Teenagers (2009)
|
Outlines the views of 277 teenagers, aged 12-18, who took part in
consultations during October 2008.
|
Life skills matter – not just points: A survey of implementation
of Social, Personal and Health Education (SPHE) and Relationships
and Sexuality
Education (RSE) in second-level schools (2010)
|
This survey is the first Irish peer research on these issues and outlines
the ways in which young people experience the implementation
of SPHE and RSE in
second-level schools. 134 students from 68 schools took part in the SPHE survey,
and 220 students from 94 schools
took part in the RSE survey.
|
Evaluation of the work of the Dáil na nÓg Council
(2010)
|
This independent evaluation is based on the views of members of the
Dáil na nÓg Council and policymakers.
|
Reform of the Junior Cycle in second-level schools: Report of a
consultation with young people (2011)
|
Report of a consultation with 88 young people on the reform of the Junior
Cycle, which took place in November 2010, organised by young
people from the
Dáil na nÓg Council, OMCYA and the National Council for Curriculum
and Assessment (NCCA).
|
Listen to Our Voices: A report of consultations with children and young
people living in the care of the State (2011)
|
Report of consultations with 220 children and young people living in the
care of the State.
|
- A
number of publications on the UN Convention are available on the DCYA website
(www.dcya.ie). These include the text of the
Convention, an information leaflet for children, Ireland’s first (1996)
and second (2005) report
to the UN Committee, and the Committee’s
concluding observations on the second report. In addition, Ireland’s
second
report was published and widely disseminated by the National
Children’s Office (NCO, 2005a).
- Human
rights education is included in the Social, Personal and Health Education (SPHE)
Programme delivered as part of the primary
curriculum, and Civics, Social and
Political Education (CSPE) in second-level schools. Both programmes encompass
the consideration
of individual and groups rights and corresponding
responsibilities. In addition, the Lift Off Programme is an optional programme
developed and delivered to pupils at primary level, providing a specific tool
for the promotion of human rights and detailed learning
materials on the UN
Convention.
- The
initial training of primary and second-level teachers includes a number of
modules and electives relevant to the promotion of
human rights. At primary
level, these include: Inclusion; Educational Disadvantage; Intercultural
Education; Equality and Cultural
Diversity; and Social Justice. At second level,
they include: Equality and Diversity; Social Justice; Multiculturalism; and
Inclusion.
- In
April 2010, An Garda Síochána published a comprehensive policy on
the investigation of sexual crime, crimes against
children, and child welfare,
the aim of which is to combine professionalism with sensitivity and compassion
in the investigation
of sexual crimes. A number of selected Garda personnel
underwent intensive training and have been deemed competent to deal with all
victims of serious crime, including children aged less than 14 years and people
with intellectual disabilities. The number trained
is dictated by the volume of
serious crimes in a Garda District/Division/Region. These specialist
interviewers are available for
this task when required and the interviewing of
under-14 year-olds takes priority over any other duty. A Garda who is not a
trained
specialist victim interviewer will only interview an under-14 year-old
who has been the victim of a sexual offence, or an offence
involving violence or
threats of violence, in exceptional urgent
circumstances.
H. Dissemination of
State reports and concluding observations of the Committee to the public, civil
society, business organisations,
labour unions, religious organisations and
others
- Periodic
reports receive extensive coverage in print and broadcast media, and are made
available to all relevant NGOs via the Children’s
Rights Alliance. The
reports, along with copies of the UN Committee’s concluding observations,
are also placed on government
websites through the DCYA (www.dcya.ie) and are also available to purchase in
printed form for a limited period following publication through Government
Publications. A
limited number of copies are retained for the use of students,
public policy researchers and academics, and for distribution on request
to
schools teaching human rights education
modules.
I. Plans to disseminate the
current State report and concluding observations of the Committee to the
public
- As
with previous reports, the current State report and concluding observations will
be widely disseminated through the media, NGOs
and government
websites.
J. Cooperation with civil
society organisations (including NGOs and children’s and youth
groups)
- Under
the National Children’s Strategy, 2000-2010, a range of structures were
put in place to allow NGOs and children’s
and youth groups to become
actively engaged in planning, monitoring and implementing Ireland’s
progress on children’s
rights.
- The
National Children’s Advisory Council (NCAC) has an advisory role to the
Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, and includes
representatives of the
statutory agencies, voluntary sector, research community, parents and young
people. Its overarching role is
to contribute to the development of a strong
collaborative interface between statutory and non-statutory providers of
children’s
services in order to improve outcomes for children and young
people.
- The
Working Together for Children Initiative is led by the DCYA and aims to develop
and implement a planning model for national and
local inter-agency working, with
the aim of securing better developmental outcomes for children through more
effective integration
of policies and services. The establishment of the
country-wide Children’s Services Committees (CSCs) is a key component of
this initiative (see para. 217).
- The
range of consultative structures that engage children and give them a voice in
policy, decision-making and various consultative
initiatives is detailed in
paragraphs 310-314.
- The
DCYA has consulted with the Children’s Rights Alliance (CRA) in the
preparation of this report. The CRA has over 100 member
organisations that
represent the majority of the organisations in Ireland concerned with
children’s rights and welfare.
- A
draft of this report was sent to the Children’s Rights Alliance (CRA) for
their observations in December 2012. Because of
this, the Inter-Departmental
Liaison Group, which was established to prepare the draft report, met with the
CRA and its member organisations
on 28 January 2013. Following this meeting, the
CRA submitted initial specific observations on 8 February 2013, followed by a
further
summary submission on 25 February 2013. The report was revised,
taking into account many of the changes suggested by the CRA. The
summary
submission from the CRA is included in full in the Appendix.
- In
addition, the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs and her Department
consults with individual NGOs as issues
arise.
II. Definition of the
child
Minimum legal age definitions
- The
definition of “the child” and minimum legal age provisions in
national legislation were comprehensively reported in
Ireland’s second
report (NCO, 2005a). Table 4 summarises this information, updating it where
relevant.
Table
4
Definition of “the child” and minimum legal age
provisions
Provision
|
Age
|
Age of majority
|
Age of Majority Act 1985: Defines the age of majority and the age at which
people can vote.
|
Majority attained at 18 years, or on marriage if prior to this.
Provides for the right to vote at 18 years.
|
Age of marriage
|
Family Law Act 1995: Defines the legal age at which a person can
marry.
|
18 years, except in cases where a Court Exemption Order has been
obtained.
|
Social welfare provision
|
Section 2(3) of the Social Welfare Consolidation Act 2005 (as
amended): Defines the term “qualified child” as follows:
a qualified
child must (1) be ordinarily resident in the State, (2) not be detained in a
reformatory or industrial school and (3)
satisfy the condition as to age (which
is defined within the scope of the relevant scheme).
|
Under 18 years for all schemes.
Between 18 and 22 years if young person is in full-time education for
selected schemes.
|
Education
|
Education Welfare Act 2000: Sets out the age at which children may leave
education.
|
16 years, or following three years of full-time second-level education,
whichever comes later.
|
Medical treatment
|
Non-Fatal Offences Against the Person Act 1997: Defines a child for the
purposes of consenting to medical procedures for the purpose
of diagnosis or
ancillary to any medical treatment.
|
16 years.
|
Mental Health Act 2001: Defines a child for the purposes of psychiatric
treatment.
|
18 years, or on marriage if prior to this.
|
Child care
|
Child Care Act 1991, Child Care (Placement of Children in Foster Care)
Regulations 1995 and Child Care (Placement of Children with Relatives)
1995
|
Children in foster care remain legally part of their family until the age
of 18 years.
|
Adoption Acts, 1952-2010: Defines a child for the purposes of
adoption.
|
Under 18 years.
|
Age of consent to sexual activity
|
Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Act 2006
|
Raised the age of consent from 16 to 17 years irrespective of age, gender
or sexual orientation.
Provides for the offences of defilement where a child is under 15 years of
age, and attached a possible sentence of life imprisonment
to such.
|
Purchase of alcohol and solvents
|
|
Intoxicating Liquor Act 2003: Sets down the age at which people may
purchase alcohol and be present on licensed premises.
|
Prohibits the sale of alcohol to persons under 18 years.
Prohibits the presence of children under 18 years on licensed premises
after 9 p.m. other than when accompanied by an adult or attending
private
functions at which a substantial meal is served.
|
Public Health (Tobacco) Act 2002
|
Makes it an offence to sell a tobacco product to a person under 18 years of
age.
|
Child Care Act 1991
|
Prohibits the sale of solvent-based products to children under 18 years
where it is known or suspected that they will be abused.
|
Employment
|
|
Protection of Young Persons (Employment) Act 1996: Prohibits the full-time
regular employment of a child; sets out the requirements
in relation to maximum
working hours, rest periods and early morning and night work; sets out the
conditions under which children
aged 14 and 15 years can be employed.
|
Child is defined as anyone under 16 years.
Young person is defined as anyone aged 16 or 17.
|
Juvenile justice
|
|
Children Act 2001 and Criminal Justice Act 2006: Defines the age of
criminal responsibility.
|
Age of criminal responsibility raised from 7 to 12 years.
10 and 11 year-olds may be charged with serious offences such as murder,
manslaughter, rape or aggravated sexual assault, with proceedings
being taken
with the consent of the Director of Public Prosecutions.
|
Voluntary enlistment to the defence forces
|
|
Statutory Regulation (forthcoming)
|
Minimum age of voluntary enlistment raised from 17 to 18 years in
2012.
|
- With
regard to children’s consent to medical treatment, the Health Service
Executive (HSE) established the National Consent
Advisory Group with a view to
establishing a national consent policy. In May 2012, Draft National Consent
Guidelines were released
for comment and feedback on the HSE website (www.hse.ie). Part 2 of these draft guidelines deal
expressly with issues relating to children and adolescents, and consent for
medical and social
care interventions. As indicated in Table 4, children who
have reached the age of 16 years may consent to medical interventions
without
the agreement of their parents. However, the current legislation is
unclear as to whether this right also applies to refusal of medical
or social
care interventions since the outcomes of such a refusal may have serious
implications for the child’s health and
life. The Draft National Consent
Guidelines propose that in cases where an individual under the age of 18 refuses
life-sustaining
treatment, or of other decisions which may have profound
irreversible consequences for him or her, an application should be made
to the
High Court to adjudicate on the refusal. In such a case, the High Court may
intervene to order treatment that is necessary
to save life where this is in the
best interests of the young person. In the event of such an application, the
person under 18 should
be separately represented.
- The
Interim Report of the Steering Group reviewing the Mental Health Act made clear
recommendations in relation to children, including
relating to the definition,
for the purposes of any new mental health legislation, of “a child”.
The recommendations
of the Steering Group are now being examined by an Expert
Group, which expects to present its Final Report to the Minister in Quarter
2,
2013.
III. General
principles
A. Non-discrimination
- Ireland’s
first report to the UN Committee, published by the Government of Ireland (1996),
detailed the Constitutional provisions
relating to non-discrimination, and
progress on this issue was detailed in the second report, published by the
National Children’s
Office (NCO) in
2005.[6] A number of significant
anti-discrimination measures and initiatives have taken place since 2006. These
have been introduced in light
of the growing diversity of Irish society.
- Planning
for Diversity – A National Action Plan Against Racism and Related
Intolerance, published in January 2005, was implemented during the four-year
period between 2005 and 2008 inclusive. The Plan had an overall
focus on
supporting key stakeholders in the development of locally based anti-racism
strategies and social inclusion measures in
order to promote diversity. Total
expenditure under the Plan was approximately €5 million. The Plan led to
the development
of strategies such as the Intercultural Health Strategy, the
Intercultural Education Strategy, the Arts Strategy and the Workplace
Diversity
Strategy, which continue to be implemented by the relevant government
services.
- The
National Consultative Committee on Racism and Interculturalism (NCCRI) was
established by the then Department of Justice, Equality
and Law Reform as an
independent expert body to provide advice, develop initiatives to combat racism
and work towards a more inclusive,
intercultural society in Ireland. The
approach of the NCCRI was to promote intercultural approaches to integration
through dialogue
and consensus. It worked in partnership with a broad range of
government and non-government bodies, with a focus on long-term sustainable
outcomes. In 2008, the NCCRI chose education as the theme for Intercultural and
Anti-Racism Week. An educational toolkit and posters
celebrating intercultural
dialogue in the classroom were subsequently sent to schools nationwide. Due to
budgetary restrictions put
in place as a result of the economic downturn in
Ireland, the NCCRI was closed in 2008.
- Following
on from this, the Department of Education and Skills and the Office of the
Minister for Integration launched the Intercultural
Education Strategy,
2010-2015, in September 2010. The strategy is designed to assist in the creation
of an intercultural, integrated
and inclusive learning environment in all
sectors of education, from preschool to further and higher education. It is
aimed at respect
for difference and concerted and evolving change of attitude,
which would enable new immigrant students, along with their native
peers, to
feel more welcome. It is hoped that students within such a learning environment
will have higher expectations and aspirations,
and therefore remain in full-time
education longer. The strategy aims to ensure that:
- All students
experience an education that “respects the diversity of values, beliefs,
languages and traditions in Irish society
and is conducted in a spirit of
partnership” (Education Act 1998);
- All education
providers are assisted in ensuring that inclusion and integration within an
intercultural learning environment becomes
the norm.
- The
Report and Recommendations for a Traveller Education Strategy was
launched in November 2006. It covers all aspects of Traveller education, from
preschool through to further and higher education,
within a lifelong learning
context. The primary objective of the strategy is to ensure a quality,
integrated education for Travellers
underpinned by the principles of inclusion
and mainstreaming, with an emphasis on equality, diversity and the adoption of
an intercultural
approach. The Traveller Implementation Group, consisting of
senior officials of the Department of Education and Skills with responsibility
for different aspects of Traveller education, was established in 2006 to
progress implementation of the recommendations of the strategy.
An Advisory and
Consultative Forum was established in late 2009 to oversee the ongoing
implementation of the strategy. The Forum includes key stakeholders in the
education
sector with an interest in or a responsibility for Traveller education
in Ireland, as well as Traveller representative groups and
Travellers
themselves. The objective of the Forum is to identify issues, including
obstacles, to the implementation of the strategy.
- The
Diversity and Equality Guidelines for Childcare Providers was published
by the OMCYA in 2006 to support childcare practitioners to recognise and work
with diversity and equality issues within
preschool settings. In 2010, the
Department of Education and Skills announced funding of €500,000 for a
Preschool Initiative
for Children from Minority Groups to support preschool
services to undertake accredited equality and diversity training, linked to
these guidelines. Also at preschool level, Síolta, the National Quality
Framework for Early Childhood Education, contains
16 standards, one of which is
“identity and belonging” which states that “promoting positive
identities and a strong
sense of belonging requires clearly defined policies,
procedures and practice that empower every child and adult to develop a
confident
self- and group identity, and to have a positive understanding and
regard for the identity and rights of others”.
- In
2008, the HSE launched the Intercultural Health Strategy, 2007-2012. This
strategy provides a framework through which both staff
and service users may be
supported to participate actively and meaningfully in the design, delivery and
evaluation of provisions
of healthcare to minority ethnic service users in
Ireland. With specific regard to children, the strategy states that mechanisms
will be formulated around collaboration with relevant personnel within the
children and family sectors, and will work towards supporting
the care needs of
children and families of diverse ethnicities and cultures. The care and support
needs of separated children will
be a priority within this approach. In
addition, recommendations contained in the National Action Plan Against Racism
form a key
element of ensuring an inclusive intercultural approach to meeting
the needs of children from diverse minority ethnic groups and
communities. The
Intercultural Health Strategy further acknowledges that support and training for
staff may be required in the area
of childcare and protection within the
framework of interculturalism and diversity. Children and family services will
be supported
in efforts to develop comprehensive practice in this area. Work on
the implementation of this strategy has included the production
of a guide to
responding to diverse religious and cultural communities for healthcare staff;
collaborative work with a number of
agencies to embed an Ethnic Identifier in
core datasets; the development of an Emergency Multilingual Aid in 21 languages
to assist
staff in communicating with patients who present in acute or emergency
situations and who are not proficient in English; and engagement
with relevant
agencies in relation to enhancing support for women from minority ethnic
communities who are at risk of different forms
of gender-based violence.
- In
2010, the Arts Council launched a diversity strategy entitled Cultural Diversity
and the Arts: Policy and Strategy. Working in
partnership with relevant agencies
and stakeholders, the strategy aims to undertake an audit of selected Arts
Council schemes, the
development of resources and guides for those working in
the arts sector, and an intercultural arts scheme in collaboration with
local
development partnerships.
- In
2009, the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA), the Camogie Association and the
Ladies Football Association launched a joint Inclusion
and Integration Strategy,
2009-2015. This strategy aims to provide a sporting environment that
“welcomes people of all nationalities,
ethnicities, religions, ages and
abilities and to make it easy for them to take part”. The strategy
promotes a range of activities
and actions at national, regional, county and
local level.
- In
2007, the Football Association of Ireland (FAI) launched an Intercultural
Football Plan, with four overarching objectives: to combat “racism”
in football; to promote participation
among minority ethnic and multicultural
communities; to develop a culture of football that is dynamic and globally
competitive; and
to contribute to the wider process of integration. In 2012, the
Department of Justice and Equality is supporting the FAI’s
Football for
All programme. The rationale for the programme is that every individual,
regardless of ability, should have the opportunity
to access football in their
local club and the FAI wishes to promote an ethos of inclusion within the
football community. The programme
is aimed at players with a wide range of
disabilities, aged 6-14
years.
B. Best interests of the
child
- Ireland’s
previous reports to the UN Committee reported on the legislative basis and
regulations in place in various sectors
for the protection of the best interests
of the child.[7] This legislative,
administrative and judicial framework remains in place. The following provides
an update on measures in this area.
- The
Child Care (Amendment) Act 2007, which provides for greater autonomy of foster
carers who have had a child in their care for a
continuous period of five years
or more, provides that the court shall grant such orders only where it is in the
best interests of
the child to do so.
- The
Adoption Act 2010 provides that, in domestic and intercountry adoptions, the
welfare of the child will be the first and paramount
consideration of the
Adoption Authority or the court in making an adoption order.
- The
Child Care (Amendment) Act 2011 provides that the best interests of the child
must be upheld in all matters relating to the formulating
and varying of Special
Care Orders and decisions regarding the convening, organisation and management
of Family Welfare Conferences.
- The
National Standards for the Protection and Welfare of Children were
published by HIQA in 2012 to support continuous improvements in the care and
protection of children in receipt of HSE child protection
and welfare services,
and are intended to be used in conjunction with the relevant legislation and
Children First: National Guidance (DCYA, 2011). The best interests of the
child are fundamental to a number of the themes included in the National
Standards, including
the development of child-centred services and the use of
information, and in standards relating to the determination by social workers
of
the most appropriate course of action in relation to a child, all
decision-making, partnership between social workers in building,
supporting and
promoting improvements in services, and the sharing of information with children
and families (see paras. 199-200
on the 2012 referendum on children’s
rights).
Employment rights legislation
- Under-18s
may obtain employment, but Ireland has employment rights legislation aimed at
ensuring their health and well-being. The
principal legislation governing the
employment of under-18s is described below.
- The
Protection of Young Persons (Employment) Act 1996 consolidates the law on young
workers and gives effect to international rules
on protecting young workers
drawn up by the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the European Union
(EU). The Act regulates
the protection of young persons in employment generally,
including industrial work. The law is designed to protect the health of
young
workers and to ensure that work during the school years does not put a young
person’s education at risk. The law sets
minimum age limits for
employment, sets rest intervals and maximum working hours, and prohibits the
employment of under-18s on late
night work. Employers must keep specified
records for their workers who are under 18.
- Safety
and health provisions governing the employment of under-18s have been
implemented by way of the Safety, Health and Welfare
at Work (General
Application) Regulations 2007 (S.I. No. 299 of 2007) as amended by the
Safety, Health and Welfare at Work (General
Application) (Amendment) Regulations
(S.I. No. 732 of 2007). Regulation 144 of the Safety, Health and Welfare at
Work (General Application)
Regulations 2007 requires an employer to carry out a
risk assessment prior to a child or a young person commencing employment. Also,
when there is a major change in the place of work or the work to be carried out,
the employer is required to ensure that there is
no significant risk to the
safety and health of the child or young person. The Regulations prohibit an
employer from employing a
child or young person if the safety and health of that
child or young person would be put at risk.
- Under-18s
are normally engaged on a part-time basis. Accordingly, the Protection of
Employees (Part-Time Work) Act 2001 is of particular
relevance. It provides that
a part-time employee (as defined) cannot be treated in a less favourable manner
than a comparable full-time
employee in relation to conditions of employment. It
also provides that all employee protection legislation applies to a part-time
employee in the same manner as it already applies to a full-time employee. Any
qualifying conditions (with the exception of any hours
thresholds) applying to a
full-time employee in any of that legislation also apply to a part-time
employee.
- Finally,
the National Minimum Wage Act 2000 sets out the minimum rate of pay that an
employee is entitled to receive, with specific
provisions in relation to young
people aged under 18.
Specific provisions for unaccompanied
minors, asylum-seeking children and victims of human trafficking
- A
specialised training module for caseworkers (including those dealing with
unaccompanied minors) working within the asylum area has
been developed by UNHCR
and the training is facilitated by UNHCR on a regular basis. While the
procedures utilised relate to unaccompanied
minors, the approach taken, and
particularly the training provided, is also of considerable benefit in the
interviewing of children
who are accompanied but whose parents have decided they
should be the subject of a separate application for asylum. The Office of
the
Refugee Applications Commissioner and the Refugee Appeals Tribunal have adopted
a multi-agency approach in the training of practitioners
in this area and as a
result the specialised training programme is also attended by representatives
from the HSE and the Refugee
Legal Service.
- The
Office of the Refugee Applications Commissioner (ORAC) has also developed
anti-human trafficking procedures. The procedures provide
for ongoing liaison
between the ORAC and the Anti-Human Trafficking Unit of the Department of
Justice and Equality and the Garda
National Immigration Bureau (GNIB). Training
in this regard has been provided to front-line staff within ORAC.
- The
State’s response to child trafficking is set out in the National Action
Plan to Prevent and Combat Trafficking in Human
Beings, 2009-2012 (see
paras. 684-688). Under this plan, a national referral mechanism has been
developed for all potential and suspected
victims of human trafficking
(including children) under which all such potential and suspected victims are
given the protection of
the State, including accommodation, immigration status
(where required), medical care, legal aid and advice, and interpretation
facilities.
- The
HSE is responsible for the protection and welfare of children under the Child
Care Act 1991, as amended, and Children First: National Guidance (DCYA,
2011). Operating under this remit, the HSE provides assistance, support
and protection to child victims of trafficking and in doing so considers
the
best interests of each child on a basis of individual assessment, including a
risk assessment which is conducted in each case.
It should be noted that the
“best interests” determination process begins from the moment a
child presents to the time
a durable solution is found. The child is allocated a
social worker from initial referral who, whenever possible, will be the
individual
who conducts the initial assessment in order to minimise the amount
of disruption during the process. The aim is to cater for each
child’s
specific needs as they present, with their long-term safety and welfare in mind.
This encompasses a multitude of actions
and factors to be considered, such as
age, abilities, resilience and circumstances.
- The
care plans developed by the HSE under the Child Care Acts 1991-2011 are in line
with the objective expressed in paragraph 23 of
the preamble to the EU
Directive on Preventing and Combating Trafficking in Human Beings and Protecting
its Victims, which was adopted
on 5 April 2011. The Garda National Immigration
Bureau deals with issues appropriate to the Garda Síochána in
conjunction
with the HSE. Similarly, the HSE liaises with the Legal Aid Board in
relation to the provision of legal aid and
advice.
C. Right to life, survival
and development
- Ireland’s
first report comprehensively addressed the Constitutional recognition of the
right to life of every citizen and the
need to protect this
right.[8]
- Every
pregnant woman who is usually resident in the State (i.e. living here or
intending to remain here for at least one year) is
entitled to free maternity
care under the Maternity and Infant Care Scheme. This provides for access to
public hospitals that provide
maternity services. The HSE also provides grant
support for those women who wish to avail themselves of home births. The scheme
also
provides for an expectant mother to attend a GP of her choosing at least
six times before the birth, and twice within six weeks after
the birth. Visits
before the birth are alternated with visits to the maternity unit or hospital.
Where the expectant mother has a
significant illness, an additional five visits
to the GP may be provided.
- On
birth, a range of health services are provided free of charge to mothers and
infants. The Public Health Nurse (PHN) Service is
responsible for child health
monitoring, which involves a programme of screening interventions and support
for parents through the
preschool years. A home visit is made by the
PHN/Community Midwifery Services following discharge from hospital after the
birth of
a baby, with further visits being offered as necessary. In 2011, 82.6%
of newborn babies were visited by a PHN within 48 hours of
discharge from the
hospital for the first time. Details of further primary care services available
are provided in paragraphs 478-490.
- Provisions
for maternity leave were reported on in Ireland’s second
report.[9] Since 2007, women have
been entitled to 26 weeks’ paid maternity leave, an increase of 8 weeks
over previous provision, and
an additional 16 weeks’ unpaid leave, also an
increase of 8 weeks over previous provision.
- Maternity
Benefit is a payment for employed and self-employed people who meet the PRSI
contributions’ criteria for the tax year
relevant to their claim and who
are in insurable employment covered by the Maternity Protection Act 1994
immediately before the first
day of maternity leave. The last day of insurable
employment must be within 16 weeks of the end of the week that the baby is due.
For an employed person, the weekly rate is calculated by dividing the gross
income in the relevant tax year by the number of weeks
worked in that year. 80%
of this amount is then payable weekly, subject to a minimum payment of
€217.80 and a maximum payment
of €262.00. For the self-employed, the
weekly rate is calculated by dividing the reckonable income in the relevant tax
year
by 52. Again, 80% of this amount is then payable weekly, subject to the
minimum and maximum payments.
- The
Parental Leave Act 1998 was amended by the Parental Leave (Amendment) Act 2006.
This increased the age of the child for which
parental leave can be taken from 5
to 8 years. In the case of a child with disabilities, parental leave may be
taken up to the age
of 16 years. Parental leave is available for each child and
amounts to a total of 14 working weeks per child. Both parents have equal
and
separate entitlement to parental leave. If both parents work for the same
employer, parental leave entitlements may be transferred
between parents with
the employer’s agreement.
- Capital
punishment was abolished in Irish law in 1990. The Twenty-first Amendment to the
Constitution Act 2001 removed all references to the death penalty from the
Constitution.
- All
deaths, including those of children, are registered centrally with the Registrar
of Births, Marriages and Deaths. Deaths must
be registered within 3 months by a
relative of the deceased, who will receive a Death Notification Form from the
attending doctor
or hospital. Where the doctor providing the Death Notification
Form had not seen the deceased in the 28 days preceding his or her
death, or
where there may be any concerns about the cause of death, he or she may refer
the death to the Coroner’s Office which
will decide if a post-mortem is
necessary.
- Child
mortality rates in Ireland have remained relatively stable over the past five
years, with the highest recent rate of 4.3% reported
in 2008 and the lowest rate
of 3.4% reported in 2011.
- In
2010, the Central Statistics Office (CSO) Vital Statistics reported three deaths
of children aged less than 15 years due to homicide
or assault.
- Infanticide
does not arise as a significant issue in Ireland. Between 2006 and 2011, there
was one case of infanticide in Ireland.
- Unfortunately,
suicide remains a significant issue of concern in Ireland. The CSO reported 16
suicides of children aged less than
18 years in 2011 and the National Suicide
Research Foundation reported 904 incidents of children aged between 10 and 17
years presenting
to hospital emergency departments following deliberate
self-harm. Suicide in the age range 0-17 years inclusive in Ireland is as
follows:
- 2011 = 16
(provisional figure);
- 2010 = 15;
- 2009 = 19;
- 2008 = 25;
- 2007 = 16;
- 2006 =
18.
- In
2005, Reach Out: National Strategy for Action on Suicide Prevention, 2005-2014
was launched. The strategy called for a multisectoral
approach to the prevention
of suicidal behaviour involving cooperation between health, education,
community, voluntary, and private
sector agencies. These include the family,
schools, third-level institutions and youth organisations. The strategy was
produced following
extensive consultation with all major stakeholders, including
the general public, and is overseen by the National Office for Suicide
Prevention (NOSP).
- The
NOSP runs a training programme on suicide first aid, Applied Suicide
Intervention Skills Training (ASIST), aimed at all types
of caregivers. It also
undertakes research on strategies for suicide prevention and provides funding
for organisations dealing with
suicide and its prevention, including a number of
organisations working with young people. In 2011, an additional €1 million
was made available to fund such projects. These include the following projects
targeted specifically at young people:
- The National
Youth Council of Ireland delivers “Mind Out” training to youth
workers and those working in the out-of-school
sector to equip them with the
knowledge and skills to deliver a 12-week programme to young people addressing
the mental health of
adolescents through a positive and practical approach to
coping with stressful life events.
- In the academic
year 2011/12, Young Social Innovators provided eight in-service trainings for
teachers and youth workers, while almost
4,000 15-18 year-olds participated in
its “Speak Outs”, designed to provide action-based learning with a
focus on health
and welfare.
- BeLonG To, an
organisation funded by the DCYA that works with young LGBT individuals, has
developed an NOSP-funded mental health project
to improve the skills of youth
workers, volunteers, steering groups and young people engaged in BeLonG
To’s national network,
which facilitates 17 LGBT youth groups in
15 services throughout the country.
- SpunOut (www.spunout.ie) provides young people with
access to information, including health promotion and suicide prevention
resources that encourage help-seeking
behaviours.
- The PleaseTalk
Campaign service targets 550,000 students in Ireland and Northern Ireland. It
directly engages them on individual third-level
campuses through current student
welfare structures. The PleaseTalk website (www.PleaseTalk.ie) provides a directory of
support services available to students on campuses throughout Ireland, as well
as links to other support
services like ReachOut.com, an online service which
aims to help young people get through tough times and which is funded by the
NOSP and run by Inspire Ireland (a charitable organisation that aims to help
young people live happier lives, (see www.inspire.ie).
- The NOSP also
funds several other self-help programmes for young people, including Minding Our
Mental Health On-Line, and Work Out
(a mental fitness programme for young men).
These programmes are developed and managed by Inspire Ireland, which is also in
the process
of developing resources for young people and their parents on
deliberate self-harm. All of these projects are funded by the NOSP.
- Teenline is a
telephone helpline dedicated to young people in crisis that offers support and
signposting services.
- My Mind is a
Dublin-based self-referral service providing psychological and psychotherapy
services. It provides quick and easy access
to community-based mental health
services, with an online support system enabling support nationally. It is
expanding to Cork and
forecasts that in its first year of operation it will see
about 300 under-18 year-olds avail themselves of its services.
- The NOSP in
conjunction with the Department of Health and the Department of Education and
Skills are about to publish new guidance
for schools which aims to support them
in developing an approach to mental health promotion and suicide prevention,
with the intention
of building on the existing good practice already in place in
many post-primary schools. The guidelines have been developed in particular
to
support boards of management, in-school management teams, school principals,
guidance counsellors, student support teams and teachers.
- The website www.letsomeoneknow.ie is an interactive
platform that aims to increase young people’s awareness of mental health
and well-being, and to provide contact
details for support and advice. It
features tips and quizzes concerning the well-being of young people and their
friends, as well
as a personal action diary. The website has been developed as
part of the NOSP’s Your Mental Health Awareness Initiative, launched
in
October 2007, which is aimed at improving awareness and understanding of mental
health and well-being among the general public.
- The National
Suicide Research Foundation has received joint EU and NOSP funding for the SEYLE
(Saving & Empowering Young Lives
in Europe) Project, a multicentre project
that aims to evaluate the impact of three school-based interventions directed
towards reducing
suicidal and risk-taking behaviours. The research focuses on
the impact of screening on adolescents identified as emergency cases,
adolescents’ evaluations of a mental health awareness project and a peer
review paper reporting on SEYLE baseline outcomes,
including the prevalence of
suicidal thoughts and behaviours, levels of anxiety, depression and other
psychological factors, such
as substance use and risk-taking
behaviour.
- The
NOSP also funds national support and counselling services for any person in
crisis and at risk of suicide, and for people in bereavement.
These services,
such as the Samaritans, Console and Pieta House, are used by all age groups,
including teenagers.
- In
addition to the NOSP, the HSE has 11 regional Resource Officers for Suicide
Prevention. These staff members are key to building
community capacity to
respond to suicide. The resource officers, in consultation with the NOSP and
other stakeholders, have developed
action plans for suicide prevention and
mental health promotion across many communities within their region. These
action plans focus
on suicide prevention, intervention, support for those
bereaved by suicide and capacity to address suicide prevention in a thoughtful
and practical way. Many local community initiatives are directed toward the
needs of young people.
D. Respect
for the views of the child
- As
reported on in Ireland’s second report, significant progress was made
between 1995 and 2005 towards creating mechanisms and
structures for hearing the
voice of the child under the National Children’s Strategy and the National
Children’s Office.[10]
- The
legislative basis for hearing the views of the child is contained in a number of
Acts including the Child Care Act 1991, which
is primarily concerned with child
protection, the Guardianship of Infants Act 1964 and the Children Act 2001. The
new Article 42A
4.2 on “Children” in the Constitution further
reinforces this principle: it requires legal provision to be made that in
proceedings brought by the State relating to the
safety and welfare of any
child, or in proceedings concerning the adoption, guardianship or custody of, or
access to any child, the
views of the child shall be ascertained and given due
weight having regard to the age and maturity of the
child.
Adoption
- The
Adoption Act 2010 provides that any child subject to an adoption application who
has attained the age of 7 years must have their
views heard by the Adoption
Authority and due weight must be accorded to these views in line with the
child’s age and maturity.
Adoption legislation is currently being reviewed
in light of the recent Children’s Referendum to ensure that the
consideration
of the views of the child are respected at every stage of the
process.
Child protection
- Standard
1.2 of the National Standards for the Protection and Welfare of Children (HIQA,
2012a) states that “children will be
listened to and their concerns and
complaints are responded to openly and effectively”. Features of practice
required to meet
this standard are further identified and include listening to
and understanding children’s views and taking these seriously;
putting
measures in place to address communication difficulties and facilitate children
in reporting concerns and complaints; consulting
with the child on a regular
basis for feedback to identify areas for service improvement; keeping children
fully informed of developments
during their involvement with the service where
appropriate; providing access to external sources of advocacy and independent
representation
if required; and putting in place a complaints procedure that is
transparent, open and accessible.
- The
HSE is actively promoting the voice of the child and has formal processes in
place to include children in the development of policies
and services that are
child-centred and informed by the views of children. Current processes include
the following:
- The HSE supports
EPIC, the advocacy agency for children in care. A recent agreement has been put
in place to expand this service nationally;
- The HSE, in
coordination with the Department of Children and Youth Affairs, has a forum for
children in care which meets with the
National Director of Children and Family
Services on a regular basis. This forum is informing changes to care plans and
is developing
information leaflets for children in care;
- An
Alternative Care Practice Handbook, currently under development for
professionals working with children in care, incorporates the views of children
throughout and emphasizes
the voices and rights of
children.
Participation in judicial matters
- Provision
for hearing the views of the child in child care proceedings are provided for
under the Child Care Act 1991. This Act allows
for the appointment of an
independent Guardian ad Litem (GAL) where the court considers such an
appointment to be in the best interests
of the child and in the interests of
justice. The former National Children’s Office commissioned a review of
the GAL service,
completed in 2005, which presented a number of potential
options for its development (NCO, 2005b). While recognising deficiencies
in the
current service, including the lack of regulation and the relatively high cost
of the service by international standards,
the review also concluded that there
is a need for the role of the GAL, or a similar form of independent
representation of children’s
views in child care proceedings, to be
continued, albeit in a regulated environment.
- In
2009, the Children Acts Advisory Board (CAAB), in consultation with key
stakeholders, published Giving a Voice to Children’s Wishes, Feelings
and Interests: Guidance on the Role, Criteria for Appointment, Qualifications
and Training of Guardians ad Litem Appointed for Children in Proceedings under
the Child Care Act 1991. This guidance was developed as a key step in
addressing the lack of an official definition and nationally agreed standard for
the
role, qualifications, appointment or training of GALs.
- The
Guardianship of Infants Act 1964 and the Children Act 1997 govern the
appointment of a GAL in private law proceedings. These provisions
have not yet
been commenced. The procedures for obtaining the views of children in court
proceedings, both child care and family
law related, will be subject to further
examination having regard to the specific reference to this objective proposed
for insertion
into the Constitution in accordance with the Thirty-first
Amendment of the Constitution (Children) Bill 2012.
- The
practical administrative arrangements to support the ascertaining of
children’s views are also to be reviewed.
- The
Criminal Procedure Act 2010 amends the law on victim impact evidence and
includes special provision for victims of crime who are
children (see
para. 210).
Participation in decision-making
- The
DCYA is committed to ensuring evidence-based outcomes and the inclusion of
seldom-heard children and young people in participation
structures and
initiatives. Its work is particularly targeted at children under the age of 18
and is undertaken through the development
of effective structures for
children’s participation in decision-making, the conducting of
consultations and dialogues with
children and young people, the development of
evidence-based policy in keeping with national and international best practice,
and
partnership with statutory and non-statutory organisations.
- Since
2006, the DCYA Participation Unit has worked to ensure the establishment or
consolidation of the following key structures:
- Comhairle na
nÓg (local child/youth councils): Local child and youth councils were set
up under the National Children’s
Strategy, 2000-2010 in all 34 City and
County Development Boards. The Comhairle na nÓg Development Fund
allocated over €3
million to the 34 Comhairle na nÓg during
the period from September 2007 to December 2012.
- Dáil na
nÓg (national youth parliament): Dáil na nÓg is the annual
national parliament for young people
aged 12-18 years. The DCYA funds and
oversees Dáil na nÓg, which is hosted annually by the Minister for
Children and
Youth Affairs. Delegates are elected to Dáil na nÓg
by the 34 Comhairlí na nÓg.
Achievements of
Dáil na nÓg:
- The Fairsay
campaign, which highlighted the negative portrayal of teenagers in the media and
urged media organisations to “talk
to teenagers” rather than
“talking about teenagers” (2007-2008).
- Took part in the
reference panel of young people involved in developing the highly successful
television and cinema advertisement
known as “The boy in the hoodie”
for the youth mental health awareness campaign, in cooperation with the NOSP and
the
DCYA (2008-2009).
- Influenced the
Minister for Health and Children’s decision to commence the cervical
cancer vaccine programme for 12-year-old
girls (2010).
- Attained a
commitment that questions on sexual behaviour not previously included will be
asked in the Health Behaviour of School-aged
Children (HBSC) Survey in Ireland
in future years (2010).
- Peer-led,
evidence-based survey among 2,500 teenagers on body image in November 2011,
which was launched by young people and the Minister
for Children and Youth
Affairs later in 2012.
- The DCYA
provides opportunities for children and young people to contribute their views
on issues of national and personal importance,
and has conducted national
consultations and dialogues with children and young people on a range of issues
since 2005, including:
- The development
of the Taskforce on Active Citizenship (2006);
- The age of
consent for sexual activity (2006);
- The development
of the Irish Youth Justice Strategy (2007);
- The misuse of
alcohol among young people (2007);
- Teenage Mental
Health: What Helps and What Hurts (2008);
- Consultations
with children and young people on the new Paediatric Hospital (2009);
- Consultations
with children and young people in the care of the State (January–December
2010);
- Consultations
with young people on reform of the Junior Cycle in second-level schools
(November 2010);
- Consultation
with young people on the White Paper on Crime (November 2010);
- Consultations
with children and young people on the new National Children and Young
People’s Policy Framework 2012-2017 (April
2011);
- Consultations
with children and young people for the Forum on Patronage and Pluralism in
Primary Schools (October 2011).
The findings and
recommendations from the majority of the above consultations have been captured
in individual reports, which are
available on the DCYA website (www.dcya.ie). Several of the consultations have
resulted in significant and lasting developments and changes in public policy
and services, aimed
at improving the lives of children and young people.
How a public consultation can influence policy and
practice
|
The television advertisement on teen mental health, popularly known as
“The boy in the hoodie”, is a highly successful
model of good
practice in participation by young people in decision-making (view the
advertisement at www.letsomeoneknow.ie/home/video/).
|
This HSE advertisement grew out of a number of parallel processes on
teenage mental health being overseen by the former Office of
the Minister for
Children and Youth Affairs (OMCYA), the Office for Disability and Mental Health,
the Health Service Executive (HSE)
and its National Office for Suicide
Prevention (NOSP).
|
Both Dáil na nÓg 2008 and the mental health consultations
conducted with teenagers by the OMCYA in 2008 highlighted
the need for a
positive mental health public awareness campaign aimed specifically at
teenagers. Following the launch of the report
of the consultations, Teenage
Mental Health: What Helps and What Hurts? (OMCYA, 2009), concepts for an HSE
television advertisement and awareness campaign on teenage mental health were
focus-tested in
several forums of young people around the country. A reference
panel of 25 young people was established by the OMCYA and NOSP to
become
involved in the development of the awareness campaign at every stage of the
process. Members of the reference panel gave feedback
on creative concepts and
messages throughout the process of developing the television and cinema
advertisements and the online campaign.
They advised on everything, from the
ideal accent for the main character in the advertisement, to the most
appropriate clothes for
the actors, to appealing to the widest possible audience
of teenagers. They also advised on the television time slots for screening
the
advertisement in order to ensure viewing by a maximum number of teenagers.
|
The advertisement features a teenage boy with a hoodie who cannot share his
feelings with anyone. Young people from the reference
panel featured as extras
in the advertisement.
|
Quantitative research conducted on behalf of the HSE with 505 young people
found that the television/cinema advertisement had an exceptionally
high level
of recall and awareness among teenagers, at 87%. (A recall/awareness rate of 49%
is the Republic of Ireland norm for television/cinema
advertisements from a
cross-section of industries.)
|
The research further indicates that the television/cinema advertisement had
the following impacts: motivated 3 in 4 young people to
talk to someone if
something is getting them down; encouraged them to find out more about looking
after their mental health; and
made them think differently about mental
health.
|
The unusually strong impact of the television/cinema advertising campaign
highlights the value of the methodology used in obtaining
the views of young
people and involving them in every stage of development and delivery of the
campaign.
|
The advertisement received the Taoiseach’s Public Service Excellence
Award and continues to be screened on a regular basis in
cinemas throughout
Ireland.
|
- Children and
Young People’s Participation Support Team: In March 2009, the DCYA created
the Children and Young People’s
Participation Support Team. It is made up
of staff from the DCYA Participation Unit and three regional Children and Young
People’s
Participation Officers from two national youth organisations. The
regional Participation Officers provide support for the development
of effective
Comhairle na nÓg, support the operation and development of the
Dáil na nÓg process and support
other DCYA children and young
people’s participation initiatives.
- The
DCYA is represented on two important European working groups: the Council of
Europe Ad Hoc Committee on Participation of Children
and Young People in
Decision-making, and the ChildOne Europe Working Group on Child
Participation.
- The
DCYA is committed to evidence-based policymaking and in this regard has engaged
in a range of research and evaluation initiatives
with a view to informing the
development of a national policy on children and young people’s
participation in the coming year.
- The
Inspectorate of the Department of Education and Skills routinely includes the
perspectives of pupils in the conduct of whole-school
evaluations. Inspectors
meet with a focus group of pupils in schools where a whole-school evaluation is
being conducted and, since
September 2010, questionnaires have been administered
to pupils in those schools also. The questionnaires gather the views of pupils
on their schools and on their learning. The resulting data are an important
source of evidence for the evaluating inspectors. 22,566
pupils at primary level
and 13,642 pupils at post-primary level completed questionnaires in the period
2010-2011 inclusive.
IV. Civil
rights and freedoms
A. Birth registration, name and
nationality
- Part
3 of the Civil Registration Act 2004 provides for the registration of births and
stillbirths, including provisions to record,
or add following initial
registration, the name of the father where the parents of the child are not
married to each other. In all
cases, the Act requires a forename and surname to
be assigned to the child. If a father’s details are added after the
initial
registration, the surname may be amended to reflect the father’s
details at re-registration.
- In
2004, the Twenty-seventh Amendment of the Constitution Act and the Irish
Nationality and Citizenship Act 2004 resulted in children born in Ireland to
non-national parents losing an automatic
right to citizenship. Instead, only
Irish-born children of parents who have a genuine prior link to the country,
evidenced by residing
here for three of the previous four years, are entitled to
citizenship. In January 2005, the Minister for Justice introduced the
Irish-Born
Children Scheme, commonly known as the IBC/05 Scheme. Parents granted permission
to remain in the State under this scheme
do not have the right to family
reunification with spouses, children or other family members residing outside
the State. Non-national
parents of children born in Ireland after 1 January 2005
can apply for leave to remain in the State for a further two years. In 2007
and
2010, the IBC Renewal Schemes were introduced, under which non-national parents
can apply for leave to remain for a further three
years under certain
conditions. In 2005, 16,991 non-nationals were granted leave to remain on the
grounds of having an Irish-born
child. In 2007, the number of renewals granted
was 15,052, while in 2010 the number was
12,069.
B. Preservation of
identity
- As
reported in Ireland’s second report, a child may be deprived of Irish
citizenship based on birth or adoption only under strict
conditions.[11]
C. Freedom
of expression, and the right to seek, receive, and impart information
- Article 40.6.1
of the Constitution of Ireland guarantees the rights of citizens to express
freely their convictions and opinions.
- The
Freedom of Information Act 1997 and the Freedom of Information (Amendment) Act
2003 oblige the government departments and a wide
range of statutory agencies to
publish information regarding their activities and to make personal information
held by them available
to the individuals concerned. It also establishes the
following legal rights:
- To access
information held by public bodies and government departments;
- To have official
information relating to him or herself amended where it is incomplete, incorrect
or misleading;
- To obtain
reasons for decisions affecting him or herself.
- Under
the Freedom of Information Acts, any individual may request the following
records from government departments and a range of
statutory agencies:
- Records relating
to the individual, whenever created;
- All other
records created after 21 April
1998.
D. Freedom of
thought, consciousness and religion
- Ireland’s
second report outlines the Constitutional provisions regarding freedom of
thought and consciousness, the free practice
of religion, and the right of
parents to guarantee their children’s religious
education.[12]
- Ireland
has signed but not yet ratified Protocol 12 of the European Convention on Human
Rights. This is due to concerns regarding
Article 1 of the Protocol and the
lack of clarity in relation to the precise extent of the obligations imposed on
States parties
by the broad general prohibition on discrimination. The
Department of Justice and Equality continues to keep the ratification of
this
Protocol and the interpretation of Article 1 by the European Court of Human
Rights under review.
- Ireland’s
second report detailed the provisions for the teaching of religious education in
schools.[13]
- In
2011, the Minister for Education and Skills announced the establishment of the
Forum on Patronage and Pluralism in the Primary
Sector, and appointed an
independent Advisory Group to provide policy advice to the Minister on:
- How the
education system may provide a diverse number and range of schools catering for
all religions and none;
- The
practicalities of how transfer or divesting of patronage should operate for
individual primary schools in communities where it
is appropriate and
necessary;
- How such
transfer or divesting may be advanced to ensure that demands for diversity of
patronage (including from an Irish language
perspective) can be identified and
met on a national basis.
- The
Advisory Group to the Forum on Patronage and Pluralism adopted a
multidimensional approach to its work and consulted with key
stakeholders and
young people. The report of the Advisory Group, published by the Minister for
Education and Skills in April 2012,
recommends achieving diversity of patronage
using the existing stock of schools in areas where the population is stable
(Coolahan
et al., 2012). Where there is a cluster of denominational schools, but
also parental demand for alternative school patronage, the
report recommends
that transfer of patronage be achieved with assistance from the Department. The
Advisory Group advised that change
of patronage should occur in a phased way
through the adoption of a catchment approach, taking into account the
preferences of parents.
In June 2012, the Minister announced his action plan in
response to the report and work is ongoing in this regard. Based on the Advisory
Group’s recommendations, surveys of parents have been completed in 44
areas between October 2012 and February 2013. Parents
were given full
information on the different types of schools and possible patron bodies through
a comprehensive information campaign,
and a helpline was established to address
queries. A detailed analysis of the results of the survey is being undertaken.
In addition,
a public call for submissions on promoting more inclusiveness in
primary schools is planned and this will include an information
leaflet for
parents, developed with the assistance of the National Parents Council
(Primary). The results of this consultation exercise
and the findings and
recommendations on inclusiveness made by the Advisory Group will feed into the
drafting of a White
Paper.
E. Freedom of association and
peaceful assembly
- Article 40.6.1
of the Constitution of Ireland guarantees the rights of all citizens, subject to
public order and morality, to form associations and unions and to assemble
peacefully without
arms.
F. Protection of privacy and
protection of the image
- The
Data Protection Act 1998 and Data Protection (Amendment) Act 2003 provide legal
safeguards for the retention of personal information
on computers or in manual
files by third parties.[14] The
safeguards of these Acts apply equally to children and adults.
- Legal
proceedings in Ireland regarding and involving children are held
“otherwise than in public” or in camera. The Judicial
Separation and Family Law Reform Act 1989 provides that cases are heard
otherwise than in public, which has been interpreted
by the majority of the
courts as meaning in private. The Family Law Act 1996 also provides that cases
be heard other than in public
and Statutory Instrument No. 84, 1997
translates this requirement as meaning in camera. The Civil Liabilities
and Courts Act 2004 allows for the reporting of family law proceedings and
decisions by legal professionals
and certain classes of persons to be identified
in regulations made by the Minister for Justice and Equality, but does not allow
such reports to identify any party to the proceedings to which they relate. This
has allowed for greater study of family law cases,
by academic professionals in
particular.
- The
Child Care Act 1991 provides for the hearing of child protection cases in
camera. Access to such cases is at the discretion of the Judge and permitted
only in relation to a limited range of professionals, primarily
academic
researchers. The Child Care Act 1991 (Section 29(7)) Regulations
(S.I. No. 467/2012) provide that a specified class of persons are
entitled to apply to attend hearings of proceedings under Part III,
IV or VI of
the Child Care Act 1991, in respect of child care and protection cases conducted
in the District Court, to prepare a
report on cases for the purpose of assisting
in the better operation of the Child Care Act 1991. The person who will prepare
the
report is required to be engaged in child care law research, be nominated by
a specified body and be approved by the Minister for
Children and Youth Affairs.
Any such reports prepared in accordance with these Regulations will not identify
the parties to the proceedings
to which they relate.
- The
Children Court in Ireland also sits in camera and no identifying
information may be released to the public. In relation to criminal proceedings,
the Children Act 2001 (as amended)
provides for restrictions on the reporting of
proceedings where children are concerned (Section 93 of the Act as amended
by the Criminal
Justice Act 2006) and also sets out what persons are entitled to
be present at the court hearing (Section 94). The seriousness of
the
offence is not relevant to the application of these
rules.
G. Access to information from
a diversity of sources and protection from material harmful to children’s
well-being
- Ireland’s
second report detailed the provision of appropriate information to children
through library, radio and broadcasting
services, and the protection of children
from inappropriate or harmful information through media, films, video recordings
and the
Internet.[15] Since 2005, a
number of measures have been taken to further ensure that children have access
to appropriate information while being
protected from harmful
materials.
Broadcasting and advertising
- In
January 2007, the Advertising Standards Authority of Ireland (ASAI) launched a
revised Manual of Advertising Self-Regulation with the Code of Standards for
Advertising, Promotional and Direct Marketing in Ireland (6th edition). This
includes a chapter on advertising and children, which sets out a range of
standards that recognise the need to
respect children’s particular
characteristics, portray them in an appropriate and inoffensive manner, protect
them from physical,
mental and moral harm, advertise food and beverage products
aimed at children appropriately and protect their right to privacy.
- Ireland’s
second report detailed the development of a Children’s Code by the
Broadcasting Commission of Ireland (now the
Broadcasting Authority of Ireland
(BAI)).[16] A statutory review of
this code was carried out in 2008 in consultation with key stakeholders. The
outcomes of this, published in
2009, undertook to revise a number of the parts
of the code, including the rules on food and drink, and to issue guidance notes
in
relation to other rules. Subsequent to this, the code was updated in order to
transpose the AVMS Directive (Council Directive 2010/13/EU)
into Irish law and a
new extended Children’s Commercial Communication Code came into effect in
May 2011. In 2011 and 2012,
the BAI consulted on regulations to be applied to
the promotion, via commercial communications to children, of foods that are high
in fat, salt and sugar. A new code, including restrictions and rules on the
promotion of these foods, will come into effect in the
second half of 2013. The
code applies specifically to commercial communications that promote products,
services or activities that
are deemed to be of particular interest to children
and/or broadcast during and between children’s programmes. The code is
available on the BAI website (www.bai.ie) in the
Codes and Standards section.
- The
Minister for Children and Youth Affairs has worked with the retail industry in
the matter of age-appropriate clothing for children,
and in June 2012 she
launched Retail Ireland’s Childrenswear Guidelines, which have been
designed to combat the sexualisation
of young children (Retail Ireland,
2012).
Internet safety
- From
2006 to 2007, the Internet Advisory Board continued its work promoting awareness
regarding Internet safety and potential risks
for children and young people. It
also continued to oversee the role of the Internet hotline, which allows
individuals to anonymously
report suspected illegal content on the
Internet.
- The
Office for Internet Safety (OIS) was established in 2008 as a response to
growing concerns about Internet safety and assumed the
responsibilities of the
previously existing Internet Advisory Board. The OIS has responsibility for
coordinating measures to ensure
a safer Internet environment, particularly for
children and young people, within a self-regulatory and cooperative framework,
and
is particularly focused on combating child pornography. Since its
establishment, it has published a range of advisory publications
on aspects of
Internet safety, including A Parent’s Guide to New Media
Technologies, A Parent’s Guide to Filtering Technologies, A
Parent’s Guide to Social Networking Sites and A Guide to
Cyber-bullying.
- The
OIS manages the Safer Internet Ireland project, which receives funding from the
European Union’s Safer Internet Programme. A variety of initiatives
are ongoing in this regard, including:
- The operation of
the Internet hotline www.hotline.ie, which
is co-funded and operated by the Internet Service Providers’ Association
of Ireland and is a member of the International
Network of Internet Hotlines (www.inhope.org). The hotline deals with
confidential reports of illegal content on the Internet;
- Internet safety
awareness campaigns, particularly those run in cooperation with the Professional
Development Service for Teachers
(PDST) (www.ncte.ie), which operates the Irish Internet
safety awareness node, www.webwise.ie. The
PDST works to disseminate Internet safety messages through the educational
curriculum. The Webwise Primary School Programme
was launched in February
2012;
- Engagement with
relevant stakeholders, including statutory, industry and child protection
interests, via the Internet Safety Advisory
Council, which advises the OIS;
- Childline is a
multimedia listening service for children and young people up to the age of 18,
which is operated by the ISPCC (www.ispcc.ie).
The service is free and confidential and available 24 hours a day, 7 days a
week, 365 days a year (www.childline.ie);
- A national
confidential helpline for parents that provides information and support in
relation to Internet issues, in particular cyber-bullying,
operated by the
National Parents’ Council (Primary) (www.npc.ie).
- In
2010, the Irish Safer Internet Youth Advisory Panel was launched to ensure that
the views of children and young people feed into
the awareness-raising
activities and the policy development work of the Office for Internet Safety
(OIS). Work to further develop
and enhance all of the activities detailed is
continuing.
H. The right not to be
subjected to torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or
punishment, including corporal punishment
- Ireland’s
second report detailed the Constitutional and legislative provisions with regard
to torture, cruel or inhuman treatment,
and corporal
punishment.[17] These provisions
continue to govern this area.
- It
is important to clarify that Ireland does not have any law or statute that
specifically permits corporal punishment within the
home setting.
Section 246 of the Children Act 2001 provides clear legal deterrents to the
use of excessive physical discipline within
this and other
settings.[18]
- Although
a limited defence of “reasonable chastisement” exists in common law,
Irish courts have previously handed down
severe sentences in cases where parents
have been convicted for assault or the use of excessive or unreasonable force.
The practice
of corporal punishment has been specifically prohibited in all
professional care settings in recent years. While a specific proposal
for a
prohibition in the home setting has not been brought forward to date, the matter
has been kept under continuous review. The
Government considers that there is a
delicate balance to be struck between child protection priorities and attempting
to criminalise
parents who “smack” their children. Any proposal for
legislative change in this area will require careful consideration
due to the
relative merits of criminal sanctions and positive promotion of good parenting
models, and possible Constitutional implications
relating to the role of the
family.
- It
is important to emphasize that considerable progress has been made in recent
years in eliminating virtually all forms of violence
against children in Ireland
and in encouraging parents to use alternative non-violent forms of discipline in
the family setting.
Recent findings to emerge from Growing Up in Ireland,
the National Longitudinal Study funded by the DCYA, indicated that almost 90% of
parents reported “never” (57%) or “rarely”
(32%) using
corporal or physical punishment as a means of disciplining children (Williams et
al., 2009). A wide variety of parenting courses are provided throughout
Ireland and further research indicates that parents both acknowledge and
appreciate the influence of education on parenting styles as a factor in the
declining use of corporal punishment. In addition, ongoing
work is planned by
the DCYA to establish the most effective ways in which to support parents
through the new Child and Family Agency.
Treatment of child
suspects
- The
statutory requirements in relation to children in custody outlined in
Ireland’s second report continue to
apply.[19] In addition, a Directive
from Garda Headquarters was issued in 2007 and comprehensive guidance notes on
the implementation of the
Custody Regulations were issued to each member of An
Garda Síochána in 2008.
- In
accordance with an assurance given to the European Committee on the Prevention
of Torture in 2010, a further reminder was issued
from Garda Headquarters to the
effect that the ill-treatment of detained persons is not acceptable and will be
the subject of disciplinary
sanction.
- A
revised “Information for Persons in Custody” Form C.72(S) was issued
by the Commissioner of An Garda Síochána.
This form must be read
over and given to each detained person to notify them of their rights and also
to inform them that the Garda
Síochána shall at all times respect
their personal rights and dignity as a human being and shall not subject them to
ill-treatment of any kind. This Form is produced in a number of different
languages, to enable all persons detained in Garda custody
to be informed of
their rights in written form in a language understood by them.
- A
revised Custody Record, issued in 2009, provides for a risk assessment for each
detained person, and for all the necessary requirements
in relation to a
detained person. It incorporates a new section on children in custody and offers
more comprehensive detail on issues
such as the condition of the detained person
on arrival. It acts as a safeguard both for the detained person and members of
An Garda
Síochána. All instances where a detained person has been
injured before, during or after arrest are recorded in the
Custody Record and a
medical report is obtained if necessary.
- Under
its current Youth and Children Strategy, An Garda Síochána is
committed “to provide a quality policing service
to all the children and
young people and to do so with dignity and respect for their human rights by
communicating, listening and
working towards building and maintaining positive
relationships with children and young people”. An important element of the
strategy is to ensure An Garda Síochána is equipped to deliver a
quality service to all children and young people,
and to endeavour to maintain
the highest recognised international standards of behaviour and best practice
when dealing with all
children and young people.
- The
strategy sets out a number of actions related to training, including the
provision of training on international conventions relating
to children in
custody. Among the courses delivered by the Crime Training Faculty in the Garda
Síochána College at
Templemore is a specialist course for
interviewers on how to prepare for and conduct interviews with children in which
they are either
suspects or victims of
crime.
I. Measures to promote
physical and psychological recovery and reintegration of child
victims
- Child
protection and welfare services are provided by the HSE through a range of
professional disciplines and interventions, in accordance
with legislative
obligations, policy documents and national and HSE guidance. Section 3 of
the Children Act 2001 places a statutory
duty on the HSE to identify children
who are not receiving adequate care and protection, and to then provide
appropriate family support
and child care services, which is understood to
include child protection services if required.
- The
following are the key legislative provisions for child protection and welfare
services:
- Data Protection
Act 1988 and Amendment Act 2003;
- Child Abduction
and Enforcement of Custody Orders Act 1991;
- Child Care Act
1991;
- Family Law Act
1995;
- Domestic
Violence Act 1996;
- Refugee Act
1996;
- Freedom of
Information Act 1997 and Amendment Act 2003;
- Non-Fatal
Offences Against the Person Act 1997;
- Education Act
1998;
- Protection for
Persons Reporting Child Abuse Act 1998;
- Protection of
Children (Hague Convention) Act 2000;
- Children Act
2001;
- Mental Health
Act 2001;
- Ombudsman for
Children Act 2002;
- Disability Act
2005.
- Underpinning
the legislative framework are the Constitution of Ireland and the Convention on
the Rights of the Child (ratified by Ireland in 1992). The Ombudsman for
Children Act 2002 applies
in relation to complaints being referred to the
Ombudsman for Children. The Children Act 2001 provides a framework for the
development
of the juvenile justice system and makes provision for addressing
the needs of out-of-control or non-offending children who may come
before the
courts. The Act provides for two distinct pathways for these children, one of
which is a welfare route through the HSE.
- A
report to a social work department includes all information received where there
are concerns about the safety or well-being of
a child. Reports might come from
professionals in other agencies, the public or a request for help and support
directly from the
family. The HSE is obliged to treat seriously all child
protection and welfare concerns, whatever their source, and consider carefully
and fairly the nature of the information reported. A balance needs to be struck
between protecting the child and avoiding unnecessary
and distressing
intervention. A child or young person has the right to self-refer to social work
services.
- All
reports to HSE social work departments are subject to a standardised business
process for referrals and initial assessments. Under
the standardised business
process:
- A screening
process will take place that will identify which reports do not belong within
the remit of HSE Children and Family Services,
and forward these on to more
appropriate agencies.
- For other
reports, preliminary enquiries will be made to confirm key information (e.g.
verify reporter’s contact details, child’s
address, nature of the
concern, check whether already known to the HSE). A preliminary enquiry is not
an assessment. The aim of this
process is to support and help the social worker
to make a decision on the actions to take in response to information reported in
order to determine the best outcome for the child who is the subject of the
report. Normally, that decision or action will be an
assessment or assessment
plus action. The screening and preliminary enquiry process should take no more
than 24 hours.
- The initial
assessment is defined as a time-limited process to allow sufficient information
to be gathered on the needs and risks
within a case so that informed decisions,
recommendations and actions can be taken. Initial assessments are expected to be
carried
out within a specific timeframe (up to 20 working days, although they
may be completed much sooner), using standardised procedures
and approved
templates and forms. The initial assessment is normally centred on interviews
and home or site visits, sometimes defined
as “direct work”. The
objectives of the initial assessment are to determine whether a further or more
comprehensive assessment
may be required and to enable, if necessary, a plan to
be put in place for continued intervention or support.
- The
Ferns Inquiry Report (2005) identified over 100 allegations of child
sexual abuse made between 1962 and 2002 against 21 priests operating under the
aegis
of the Diocese of Ferns. Several working groups were established to
address the recommendations.
- The
Ferns IV Working Group was tasked with examining the needs of children and
young people and their families who had been affected by
sexual abuse. The
report of the Working Group, entitled Assessment, therapy and counselling
needs of children who have been sexually abused, and their families, was
completed in November 2009.
- The
HSE established the Ferns IV National Steering Committee in November 2011 to
implement the findings of the Ferns IV 2009 report
(see above) and the HSE
(2011c) report entitled National Review of Sexual Abuse Services for Children
and Young People. The Ferns IV National Steering Committee, which represents
all of the key stakeholders, has developed a national model for the development
of sexual abuse services.
- Both
reports are consistent in promoting a national service model that:
- Incorporates all
resources currently applied across sectors to sexual abuse services into a
single national service that provides
standardised, best practice models of
service. The existing network of Centres will be built upon to create the new
national service;
- Integrates and
coordinates the six key components of sexual abuse services, which are:
- Medical/forensic
examination;
- Child
protection;
- Garda
investigation;
- Assessment;
- Therapy;
- Court
process;
- Delivers
services through specialist regional Centres, which support regional clinical
practitioner networks and provide outreach
clinics as required.
- Implementation
of the national model is planned to commence in 2013. The voluntary organisation
CARI provides child-centred therapy
to children who have been sexually abused or
for children under the age of 12 who are displaying sexualised behaviour. It
also provides
a hotline for professionals and parents seeking to refer a child
to services. Services include support for non-abusing parents; a
court-accompanying service for children, parents, carers or guardians; training
for social workers, therapists and psychologists;
a preventative education
programme for children; and an advocacy service. In 2012, CARI received just
under €400,000 to deliver
these services.
- The
Family Support Agency (FSA), which will be incorporated into the new Child and
Family Agency, provides counselling services for
children who have been the
victims of or witnesses to domestic violence in a number of centres around the
country.
- Provisions
for children who are suspected or found to be victims of human trafficking are
outlined in paragraphs 171-176 and 209-207.
- The
immediate and ongoing needs of separated children seeking asylum, relating to
accommodation, medical and social needs as well
as their application for refugee
status, are the responsibility of the HSE in accordance with the Refugee Act
1996 and the Child
Care Act 1991. Many of these children will have experienced
gross trauma. The main responsibilities of the HSE are to decide as to
whether
it is in the best interests of the child to make an application for asylum and,
if so, to support the child through the application
process and to provide for
the immediate and ongoing needs and welfare of the child through appropriate
placement and links with
health, psychological, social and educational services.
A dedicated Separated Children Social Work Team has been established by the
HSE
in the Eastern Region.
- To
date, the vast majority of unaccompanied minors have presented to or been
referred to the HSE in the Eastern Region. Referrals
are received from either
Immigration Authorities or the Office of the Refugee Applications Commissioner,
and services are provided
by the dedicated team based in Dublin. Assisting
clients with the asylum process and appeals process as appropriate involves all
members of the Social Work and Project Work Team. The majority of these young
people are placed in voluntary care of the HSE under
the Child Care Act 1991.
The HSE service for separated children seeking asylum has undergone significant
development since 2009 and
is now recognised as an excellent service, with high
standards of care and support for
children.
V. Family environment and
alternative care
A. Family environment and parental guidance
in a manner consistent with the evolving capacities of the child
- The
Constitutional and legislative provisions relating to parental rights and
responsibilities are set out in Ireland’s second
report.[20] Supports for parents and
guardians in the conduct of their parental responsibilities are also identified
in that report.[21] As in 2005, the
Government policy in relation to family support remains grounded in the belief
that, in the vast majority of cases,
children are most appropriately cared for
by their family. The State will therefore intervene only to support parents or
where parents
have failed in their duties as governed by the relevant
legislation. The Government focus in recent years has been on prevention
and
early intervention with families experiencing difficulties, with a view to
supporting parents in their responsibilities and maintaining
families.
- The
Family Support Agency (FSA) will become part of the new Child and Family Agency
(CFA) in 2013. Prior to this, the FSA has provided
a range of family support,
mediation and counselling services. The Family Mediation Service (FMS)
transferred from the FSA to the
Department of Justice and Equality in November
2011. Between 2007 and 2010, the FMS operated 4 full-time and 12 part-time
centres
throughout the country, with up to 1,500 couples accessing it annually.
The FSA’s support, promotion and development of the
Family and Community
Services Resource Centre Programme has expanded significantly, with the number
of core funded centres increasing
from 59 in 2003 to 107 in 2010 and a
corresponding increase in funding from €7 million to €16 million.
The FSA also administers
the Scheme of Grants to voluntary organisations
providing marriage, child and bereavement counselling services. This funding
increased
from €7 million in 2003 to €9.4 million in 2012.
- The
Prevention and Early Intervention Programme (PEIP) for Children has been
implemented by the DCYA since 2008 to test innovative
methods for improving
outcomes for children and families. Funding amounting to €36 million has
been provided by the Government
and philanthropic partners, including The
Atlantic Philanthropies. A key component of the PEIP has been a rigorous and
ongoing monitoring
and evaluation of the outcomes of undertaken activities and
assessment of individual sites to determine which interventions work
and how and
where these can be employed most effectively in order to improve delivery of
services and develop new policy. A new area-based
approach to child poverty is
being introduced in 2013, which will continue to build and expand on the PEIP
initiative.
- Ireland’s
second report provided details of the Springboard Family Support projects funded
by the HSE.[22] These ongoing
projects work intensively with children who are at risk of going into care or
getting into trouble with their families.
In 2010, there were 1,089 family
referrals to these projects, comprising 1,307 parents and 1,651 children.
- Ireland’s
second report also provided details of the Teen Parents Support
Initiative.[23] This offers support
to young parents aged 19 or less until their child is 2 years of age. Support is
offered on topics such as health,
relationships, parenting, childcare,
accommodation, social welfare entitlements, education, training and any other
areas about which
the young parent(s) may be concerned. In 2010, the initiative
received €1.78 million in HSE funding and had 11 projects throughout
the
country, each based in an employing organisation from either the statutory or
voluntary sector. It has a National Coordinator
and a National Advisory
Committee, which provides a forum for sharing information and inter-agency
collaboration.
B. Parents’
common responsibilities and alternative care, assistance to parents and the
provision of childcare services
- Custody
matters in the EU concerning jurisdiction and the recognition and enforcement of
judgements in matrimonial matters and matters
of parental responsibility are
covered by Council Regulation (EC) No. 2201/2003 of 27 November 2003, which
repealed Regulation (EC)
No. 1347/2000. This new regulation, which is often
referred to as Brussels II, came into effect on 1 March 2005 and governs the
recognition
across the EU of access, custody and guardianship decisions made in
each Member State. In order to ensure equality for all children,
the scope of
this regulation extends to cover all decisions on parental responsibility,
regardless of whether the parents are or
were married, or whether the parties to
the proceedings are or are not both biological parents of the child in
question.
- Maternity
and parental leave provisions are outlined in paragraphs 296-298. Details
of financial assistance to parents and families
are included in
paragraphs 533-539.
- The
Irish Government and the EU jointly funded the Equal Opportunities Childcare
Programme (EOCP) in the period between 2000 and 2007.
The aims of the programme
were to maintain and increase the number of childcare facilities and places
available to parents, introduce
a coordinated approach to the delivery of
childcare services and improve the quality of childcare available.
- The
EOCP operated under three sub-measures to enable it to meet its objectives. It
provided capital funding to both community not-for-profit
groups and commercial
providers, and staffing supports to community groups in disadvantaged areas. In
the region of €230 million
in capital funding was spent under the
programme for the development of childcare facilities, with almost 90% of the
funding going
to community not-for-profit services. The programme also provided
support for quality improvement projects, including the funding
of 33 City and
County Childcare Committees (CCCs) and 7 National Voluntary Childcare
Organisations. The creation of the CCCs was
an important development under the
programme, ensuring that the issue of childcare was prominently positioned in
all discussions
on local development.
- In
2006, the National Childcare Investment Programme (NCIP) was introduced as a
successor programme to the EOCP. The NCIP was fully
funded by the State and
aimed to continue the progress made by the EOCP. €185 million in capital
funding was spent during the
period between 2006 and 2011. In addition, the
staffing support grants under the EOCP were replaced in 2008 by the Community
Childcare
Subvention Scheme (CCCS), which focused on reducing childcare costs
for parents on low incomes.
- During
the period 2000-2011, approximately €415 million in capital funding was
invested under the EOCP and NCIP. This investment
is estimated to have created
in the region of 65,000 additional full-time equivalent childcare places, with
almost 40,000 of these
places resulting from EOCP funding.
- The
Irish Government currently provides approximately €250 million annually to
three support programmes that enable parents
of preschool children to access
quality and affordable early childhood care and education. These programmes
– the free Preschool
Year in Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE)
Programme, the Community Childcare Subvention (CCS) Programme and the Childcare
Education and Training Support (CETS) Programme – are implemented by the
Department of Children and Youth Affairs.
- The
Free Preschool Year in Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) Programme was
introduced in January 2010. It is a universal programme,
providing a free
preschool year to all eligible children in the year before commencing primary
school and gives all children access
to early education. Some 65,000 children
(approximately 95% of children in the year before school) are availing of this
free preschool
provision, at an annual cost of €175 million.
- The
Community Childcare Subvention (CCS) Programme was introduced in September 2010
and enables community childcare services to provide
quality childcare at reduced
rates to disadvantaged and low-income working parents. Parents qualify as
disadvantaged or low income
on the basis of existing means-tested entitlements,
such as the Social Welfare entitlement, Family Income Supplement, the GP visit
card or the medical card. 25,000 children are currently being subvented by the
programme, at an annual cost of over €40 million.
- The
Childcare Education and Training Support (CETS) Programme was also introduced in
September 2010. Childcare services are contracted
to provide a free childcare
place to qualifying FÁS (Ireland’s National Training Authority) or
VEC (Vocational Education
Committee) trainees for the duration of their courses.
Approximately 2,500 full-time equivalent childcare places were provided for
under this programme in 2011, at a cost of over €20 million.
- An
Expert Advisory Group has been established to advise on the development of
Ireland’s first-ever Early Years Strategy. The
group brings together
practice-based and academic experts in the areas of Early Years education,
psychology, child development, health,
social inclusion and service provision.
It is expected that the forthcoming strategy will include measures to enhance
the quality
of early years care, education and childminding, improve educational
outcomes, progress the objectives of the National Strategy to
improve Literacy
and Numeracy (2011), improve health and physical outcomes including responses to
the findings of the Growing Up
in Ireland study in relation to weight and
obesity, examine targeted approaches for disadvantaged children, and increase
positive
parental engagement in early childhood care and
education.
C. Separation from
parents
- This
issue was dealt with comprehensively in Ireland’s first report and second
report.[24] The provisions detailed
in these previous reports remain.
- The
HSE provides out-of-hours services in the greater Dublin area through the Crisis
Intervention Service (CIS) and outside the greater
Dublin area through the
Emergency Place of Safety Service. The CIS operates in 10 Local Health Offices
and provides an out-of-hours
emergency social work service to young people in
crisis. The service was established in 1992 and originally responded to young
people
between the ages of 12 and 18. Since 2005, the CIS has expanded to
include all children up to the age of 18. In June 2009, the HSE
established the
Emergency Place of Safety Service, whereby Gardaí can access an
appropriate place of safety for children and
young people found to be at risk
outside normal working hours under Section 12 of the Child Care Act 1991.
The Emergency Place of
Safety Service provides a standardised response across
the country for children who can be appropriately placed in a family setting.
This service applies outside the Dublin, Kildare and Wicklow areas. Such
services are available currently for these areas. Two pilot
projects were
commenced in 2011, in Cork and Donegal, to develop a model of out-of-hours
social work provision. These pilots have
been independently
evaluated.
D. Family
reunification
- Ireland’s
second report detailed the provision for family reunification under the Refugee
Act 1996 (as amended).[25] These
provisions remain in place.
- The
number of asylum applications made by unaccompanied minors has continued to
decrease from the high of 600 in 2001. The number
of applications made by males
and females aged less than 18 years is shown in
Table 5.
Table
5
Number of applications for asylum by unaccompanied minors seeking
asylum, 20062011
Year
|
Males
|
Females
|
Total
|
2006
|
70
|
61
|
131
|
2007
|
39
|
55
|
94
|
2008
|
51
|
47
|
98
|
2009
|
28
|
28
|
56
|
2010
|
12
|
25
|
37
|
2011
|
17
|
9
|
26
|
Total
|
217
|
225
|
442
|
Source: ORAC (2011).
- The
Department of Justice and Equality does not have statistics regarding the number
of unaccompanied minors in the State reunited
with their families. It does not
keep statistics specifically on the number of family reunification applications
by minors, since
the numbers involved are minute. Unaccompanied minors who
arrive in Ireland are dealt with in accordance with the provisions of
Section
8(5) of the Refugee Act 1996 (as amended), resulting in the
majority of cases with the child being placed in the care of the HSE.
Where an
unaccompanied minor is placed in the care of the HSE, pursuant to the provisions
of the Refugee Act 1996, the decision with
regard to the making of an
application pursuant to that Act (application for protection/asylum) rests with
the HSE. In some instances,
it may be decided by the HSE that it is not
appropriate for the unaccompanied minor to make a claim for asylum and therefore
such
minors would never come to the attention of the Office of the Refugee
Applications Commissioner
(ORAC).
E. Recovery of
maintenance
- Since
Ireland’s second report (2005), Ireland has implemented EU Regulation 4 of
2009 concerning cross-border recovery of maintenance
within the European Union.
The regulation has been in operation since May 2011 and will help ensure that
child maintenance can be
recovered from parents in other EU jurisdictions.
- Ireland
has also participated in the negotiations concerning the Hague Convention on the
International Recovery of Child Support and
Other Forms of Family Maintenance.
The Convention is expected to be ratified throughout the EU in late 2012 and
will replace older
conventions (in particular the New York Convention) with more
straightforward
procedures.
F. Children deprived of
a family environment
- Child
protection and welfare in Ireland is predicated on the Child Care Act 1991.
Under this Act, the HSE is required to promote the
welfare of children who are
not receiving adequate care and protection. The legislation also obliges the HSE
to ensure that every
child in care has both an allocated social worker and a
written care plan. The HSE, through its National Service Plan, sets out annually
the level of services to be provided on behalf of the State. Child protection
and welfare services are primarily delivered by the
HSE, with support services
delivered through service-level agreements from the non-governmental sector.
There has been improvement
over recent years in the delivery of services,
particularly in relation to the quality of services for children in residential
and
foster care. This is evidenced by mainly positive findings in HIQA
inspection reports (see www.hiqa.ie).
- However,
it is widely acknowledged that child protection and welfare services require
reorganisation and reform. A wide-ranging programme
of reform has commenced and
contains a number of critical elements, including:
- Continuing the
major cultural change required for the delivery of child-centred, transparent,
quality-assured, professionally reflective
and accountable services to children
and their families;
- Implementing
consistent child protection procedures in line with the revised national
guidelines entitled Children First: National
Guidance for the Protection and
Welfare of Children (DCYA, 2011);
- Continuing the
reforms necessary to provide safer, more reliable and effective services for
children in care;
- Continuing
implementation of the Ryan Report (Commission to Inquire into Child Abuse,
2009).
- This
reform programme is in the context of the Government’s commitment to
fundamentally reforming the delivery of child protection
services by removing
child protection and welfare from the HSE and creating a dedicated child
protection and welfare agency, reforming
the model of service delivery and
improving accountability.
- In
2012, for the first time, the HSE Vote (i.e. the budget voted by the Oireachtas
for the health services) contained a dedicated
subhead for Children and Family
Services. This dedicated budgetary provision has brought greater transparency
and control to budgetary
management and will pave the way for the establishment
of the new Child and Family Agency in 2013.
Children in
care
- Between
2007 and 2012, the number of children in care increased by almost 17%. A number
of factors contributed to this increase, including
the general rise in
population, the growing awareness of the impact of long-term neglect and the
impact on vulnerable parents of
the economic downturn. However, the rate of
Irish children in State care remains low, at 5.4 per
1,000.
Table
6
Trend in number of children in care, 2007-2011
2007
|
2008
|
2009
|
2010
|
2011
|
5,307
|
5,357
|
5,674
|
5,965
|
6,160
|
Table 7
Children in care by
type of placement, April 2012
Care setting
|
Number of children
|
Foster care
|
3,880
|
Foster care with relatives
|
1,781
|
Residential care
|
415
|
Other residential care placements
|
143
|
Total
|
6,219
|
Foster care
- The
majority (91%) of children in alternative care in Ireland are in foster care.
When a child cannot live with his or her parents,
either on a short- or
long-term basis, the HSE will, in the first instance, seek a suitable relative
or person known to the child
to provide relative care. Relative carers go
through assessment and approval in a similar way to general foster carers. In
April
2012, 31% of children in foster care were placed with relatives. A small
number of children in care are placed abroad with relatives
living outside the
country.
- Section 4
of the Child Care (Amendment) Act 2007 was commenced in July 2007. The principal
purpose of this Section of the Act is to
provide that a foster parent or a
relative who has had a child in their care for a continuous period of five
years, the child having
being placed with them by the HSE, may apply for a court
order for increased autonomy in relation to the care of the child. The order
gives such foster carers increased autonomy in relation to certain issues,
including consenting to medical treatment, the issue of
passports and other
day-to-day care issues.
- In
2009, the HSE conducted a National Audit of Foster Care Services¸ with the
final report published in 2010. In June of that
year, the HSE published the
Action Plan to Implement the Recommendations in the National Audit of Foster
Care Services. This included
both a national action plan and four regional
action plans. Implementation of the Action Plan has continued and been
incorporated
into the current Children and Family Services Reform Programme. The
Government is supporting these operational improvements by the
delivery of key
structural reforms, an important component of which is the establishment of the
new Child and Family Agency.
- The
Multidimensional Treatment Foster Care (MTFC) Programme, originally developed in
the 1980s as an alternative to residential and
group care placements for boys
with severe and chronic criminal behaviour, has been adapted for and tested with
children and adolescents
with severe emotional and behavioural disorders, girls
referred from juvenile justice for severe delinquency, and youths in regular
State-supported foster care. In 2008, the HSE established a MTFC programme
called “Time Wise Fostering” in partnership
with the Daughters of
Charity in North Dublin. This service is fully operational and
successfully meeting its targets to provide care placements for children and
adolescents with
severe emotional and behavioural disorders as an alternative to
detention. On average, there are 5-6 young people in placement at
any one
time.
Residential care
- There
are three primary forms of residential care.
- Children’s
Residential Centres are found in domestic homes in housing estates on the
outskirts of towns and villages. The centres
typically have 2-6 children,
usually in their teens. They attend local schools and take part in local
sporting and community activities.
These residential centres are inspected by
HIQA against the National Standards for Children’s Residential Centres,
with inspection
reports published on an anonymised basis. It is the policy and
practice of the HSE to place children aged 12 years or less in residential
care
only for very exceptional reasons.
- There
are two National High Support Units in Ireland with a total of 16 places. High
Support Units offer a residential service to
children and young people who are
in need of specialised targeted intervention and are “open” in that
the young person
is not detained. High Support differs from ordinary residential
care in that the units offer higher staff ratios and on-site education
as well
as specialised input, such as psychology services. High Support Units are
inspected against the National Standards for Children’s
Residential
Centres by HIQA, with inspection reports published on an anonymised basis.
- Special
care involves the secure detention of a child, for his or her own welfare and
protection, in a Special Care Unit with on-site
educational and therapeutic
supports. As with High Support, Special Care Units differ from ordinary
residential care in that the
units offer higher staff ratios, on-site education
and specialised input. The detention of a child in a Special Care Unit by order
of the High Court is only considered as a last resort and durations of detention
are kept as short as possible. There are three designated
Special Care Units in
the country, which are operated by the HSE under a single national governance
arrangement.
- The
Child Care (Amendment) Act 2011 creates a statutory framework for the High Court
to deal with special care cases rather than employing
its inherent jurisdiction.
Work is currently underway to commence the Act. Special Care Units are currently
inspected by HIQA on
an annual basis and the inspection reports are published.
The DCYA is currently developing regulations to commence the Health Act
2007, as
amended by the Child Care (Amendment) Act 2011, to authorise the HIQA to
register these units. Admissions to Special Care
and length of stay have varied
over the years and there are presently three Special Care Units, providing
placements for a total
of 17 young people.
- The
HSE plans to increase the number of Special Care places available during the
period 2011-2014 and capital projects and planning
are at an advanced stage for
the provision of three additional units.
Child abuse
inquiries
- The
past decade has seen four significant inquiries into child abuse in Ireland, all
of which have been published. These are the Ferns Inquiry Report (2005),
the Commission of Investigation – Dublin Archdiocese (2009), the
Commission to Inquire into Child Abuse (2009) and the Report of
Commission of Investigation into Catholic Diocese of Cloyne (2011). Each of
these inquiries highlighted difficulties and weaknesses in dealing with child
abuse, whether it is perpetrated by
clerics, staff, family members or non-family
members. A wide range of responses to these inquiries has been undertaken or
initiated,
reflecting a number of common themes across the investigations,
including the need to strengthen legislation in relation to child
protection,
improve reporting mechanisms and responses to child abuse allegations,
strengthen and improve children and family service
delivery, redress and support
measures for those who have been abused by Church or State personnel, and
improve measures for listening
to children.
- The
Ferns Inquiry Report (2005) investigated allegations of clerical sexual
abuse in the Irish Catholic diocese of Ferns. It identified more than 100
allegations
of child sexual abuse made between 1962 and 2002 against 21 priests
operating under the aegis of the diocese. The report examined
the response of
the Church authorities in the diocese of Ferns to allegations of child sexual
abuse perpetrated by priests operating
in the diocese over the 40 years. The
then Government accepted all of the recommendations of the report, many of which
related to
the provision of services. Accordingly, from a child protection and
welfare perspective, these were taken forward by the HSE, given
its statutory
responsibilities in this area. The recommendations include the establishment of
five working groups; an audit of Catholic
Church child protection policies,
procedures and practices; a separate ongoing audit of Religious Orders; a
nationwide publicity
campaign in relation to child sexual abuse focusing on
parenting and the importance of listening to children; contributions to the
review of compliance with the Children First: National Guidelines; the
provision of additional counselling services for victims of child abuse;
commitment to the implementation and funding of the
recommendations of the
Report on Treatment Services for Persons who Have Exhibited Sexually
Harmful Behaviour; and the provision of additional guidance for staff
on both this and intervening in abuse by non-family members as part of the
recently
issued Child Protection and Welfare Practice Handbook (HSE,
2011b).
- The
report of the Commission of Investigation – Dublin Archdiocese
(known as the Murphy Commission) was published, with some redactions, in
November 2009. The aim of this Commission was to report
on the handling, by
Church and State authorities, of a representative sample of allegations and
suspicions of child sexual abuse
against clerics operating under the aegis of
the Archdiocese of Dublin during the period from 1975 to 2004. The report showed
that
clerical child sexual abuse was tolerated and covered up by the Archdiocese
of Dublin and other Church authorities. The focus of
those authorities was on
the avoidance of scandal for the Church and the preservation of the good name,
status and assets of the
institution, rather than on the welfare of children.
The report raised a number of legal and operational issues for the State,
including
the non-pursuit of Garda investigations into some perpetrators of
abuse, the legal authority of the HSE to act in cases of third
party or
extra-familial abuse, and how information on perpetrators is recorded by the
statutory authorities.
- The
Report of the Commission to Inquire into Child Abuse (known as the Ryan
Report), published in May 2009, reported on the treatment of children in various
residential institutions, including
industrial schools, run by various Church
organisations and the State between 1932 and 2000. The report, which was the
result of
a decade-long inquiry, established that child abuse of all types in
such institutions had been systemic. It served to highlight the
need to
strengthen the organisation and delivery of child protection and welfare
services nationally. Following the publication of
the Ryan Report, a detailed
Implementation Plan was prepared and published by the OMCYA in July 2009. The
Plan sets out a series
of 99 actions designed to address the effects of past
abuse, reform and strengthen service provision, and ensure that children and
young people have a stronger voice. Of the 99 actions detailed in the Plan, 37
were referred to as “ongoing”, while the
remaining actions had a
specific timescale. Implementation of the Plan is being overseen by a high-level
group chaired by the Minister
for Children and Youth Affairs. The group includes
representatives from the DCYA, HSE, HIQA, IYJS, DES, An Garda
Síochána
and the Children’s Rights Alliance.
- By
October 2012, 59 of the actions in the Implementation Plan had been completed,
13 are complete with ongoing implementation and
27 are not yet complete. One of
the most significant of these actions has been the allocation of additional
resources to HSE Children
and Family Services, with 200 additional social
workers having been recruited in 2010, in addition to the backfilling of 249
social
work posts during the year, with a further 60 social workers recruited in
2011. The next phase of implementation will include a particular
focus on the
fundamental reorganisation of the HSE Children and Family Services into the new
Child and Family Agency. In addition,
the Minister for Children and Youth
Affairs will be giving particular priority to progressing a series of actions
relating to Children
First, including the preparation of legislation to underpin
the operation of the national guidance, and progressing the National
Implementation Framework for Children First across all government departments,
agencies and sectors that have contact with children
and young people.
- The
range of measures described above forms part of a strong and necessary
Government response to the inquiries into child abuse.
The HSE’s National
Director of Children and Family Services is also engaging directly with the
National Board for Safeguarding
Children in the Catholic Church on a programme
of action designed to ensure that the Catholic Church is responding properly and
comprehensively
to all child protection concerns.
- In
2009, the HSE established an independent inquiry into a specific,
well-publicised case in Roscommon in which the presiding Judge
felt there had
been failures on the part of the HSE and Western Health Board, and in October
2010 the Roscommon Child Care Case: Report of the Inquiry Team to the Health
Service Executive was published, with a series of recommendations. A
detailed action plan was put in place to implement the recommendations from late
2010 onwards. One of the key areas of work to develop from the recommendations
has been an audit of neglect cases. This audit has
now been completed by the HSE
in Roscommon, Waterford and Dublin South-East, and a composite report will be
produced.
- The
Commission of Investigation into Catholic Diocese of Cloyne examined all
complaints, allegations, concerns and suspicions of child
sexual abuse by
relevant clerics made to the diocesan and other Catholic Church authorities, as
well as public and State authorities
during the period from 1 January 1996 to 1
February 2009. Arising from the publication of the Report of Commission
in July 2011, the Government committed to a series of measures designed to
significantly strengthen the existing legislative, policy
and practice framework
in the area of child protection. The Minister for Children and Youth Affairs is
working closely with the Minister
for Justice and Equality on this agenda and
significant progress is being made in this regard. Key aspects of progress to
date include:
- The launch in
2011 of the revised edition of Children First (DCYA, 2011) and the HSE
Child Protection and Welfare Practice Handbook (HSE, 2011b) for use by
all social workers and other relevant practitioners;
- The drafting of
Heads of Bill to give statutory expression to the Children First national
guidance;
- The expansion of
HIQA’s remit to include oversight of the HSE’s child protection
services;
- The National
Vetting Bureau (Children and Vulnerable Persons) Act 2012 puts the vetting of
employees on a statutory footing and also
allows for the sharing of
“soft” information as part of the vetting process;
- The commencement
of the Criminal Justice (Withholding Information on Crimes against Children and
Vulnerable Adults) Act 2012.
- In
addition to the above, the Report of the Independent Child Death Review
Group (ICDRG) was published in June 2012. This Review Group examined the
number and causes of deaths of children in the care of the HSE,
in receipt of
HSE aftercare services or known to the HSE’s child protection services
between 1 January 2000 and 30 April 2010.
In total over this 10-year period, 196
children and young people died of natural causes (84 cases) and unnatural causes
(112 cases),
broken down as follows:
- Children in
care 36 deaths;
- Children and
young people in aftercare 32 deaths;
- Children and
young people known to the HSE 128 deaths.
- The
Review Group carried out a detailed examination of the 112 cases where deaths
were from unnatural causes, including accidental
deaths due to drowning,
asphyxiation, falls and traffic accidents, drug-related deaths, deaths in house
fires, suicides, deaths due
to head injuries where the cause of the injury was
unknown, death due to unknown causes, and unlawful killings. In relation to the
latter category, two children in the care of the HSE, one young person in
aftercare and 13 individuals known to the child protection
services were found
to have been unlawfully killed.
- The
ICDRG report highlighted system failings in the child protection services in
Ireland, including:
- Poor risk
assessment;
- Poor
coordination between services;
- Poor flow of
information;
- Limited access
to specialist assessment and therapeutic services;
- Limited
inter-agency work for children and families with complex needs;
- A lack of early
intervention and family support services responding proportionately to the needs
of children at risk and families
in crisis.
- The
acknowledged failures of the child protection system in relation to these
children are to be addressed primarily through internal
reforms within child and
family services; improving quality consistency of practice supports to
professional induction training;
supervision; the introduction of standardised
business processes and a model of service delivery; and the introduction of a
National
Child Care Information System – all through the reform package
underway, in particular the establishment of the new Child and
Family Agency, as
well as the establishment of a child death review structure, the extension of
out-of-hours services and the strengthening
of legislation in relation to
aftercare.
- In
2006, the Government appointed two legal experts as Special Rapporteurs
on Child Protection for a period of three years. In 2010, one of these
rapporteurs, an expert
in child and family law, was re-appointed by the previous
Government as sole Rapporteur to serve for a further period of three years.
The
functions of the Rapporteur are:
- To review and
audit legal developments for the protection of children;
- To assess what
impact, if any, litigation in national and international courts will have on
child protection;
- To prepare an
annual report outlining the results of the previous year’s work. This
report is submitted to the Oireachtas for
consideration and is
published.
Aftercare
- The
majority of young people in care are placed in foster care and remain in their
placement after they reach the age of 18. Young
people leaving residential care
usually move into private rented accommodation or occasionally into supported
lodgings accommodation
or transitional accommodation provided by voluntary
organisations in the area.
- In
2010, a HSE Advisory Group was established to develop a national policy on
aftercare. The first function of the group was to carry
out an audit of current
aftercare service provision in 2011. It found that aftercare provision is well
established in line with legislation
throughout the HSE for those young people
who remain in full-time education or training. However, services, including the
level of
human and financial resources, were uneven throughout the HSE.
- After
a number of consultations with stakeholders, the Leaving and Aftercare Services:
National Policy and Procedure was approved
in April 2011 (HSE, 2011a). This will
provide a consistent approach to the provision of aftercare services and is
being implemented
nationally and monitored by the HSE’s Aftercare
Implementation Group. Most recent statistics show that just over 1,100 young
adults were in receipt of aftercare. This represents a significant improvement
over the 847 young adults who were in receipt of aftercare
services in
2009.
- Eligibility
for aftercare services is determined on the basis of Section 45 of the
Child Care Act, which outlines the nature and extent
of services that may be
delivered when a young person leaves the care of the HSE. All young people who
have had a care history with
the HSE are entitled to an aftercare service. The
extent of what is provided is based on assessment of need, age and the length of
time the young person was in care. The service includes children in the
separated children seeking asylum service.
Additional
measures
- The
establishment of a separate Child and Family Agency is currently being advanced
to provide a stronger focus on child and family
services and to integrate a
number of existing agencies to give broader focus to family support, prevention
and early intervention,
and safeguarding and protection work in respect of
certain children.
G. Periodic review
of placement
- Ireland’s
second report outlined the legislative provisions in this
area.[26] These provisions
remain.
Social Services Inspectorate
- The
role of the Social Services Inspectorate (SSI) is outlined in Ireland’s
second report.[27]
- The
SSI was placed on a statutory footing under the Health Act 2007, wherein it is
referred to as the Office of the Chief Inspector.
The remit for children’s
services includes inspection of statutory children’s Residential Centres,
Special Care Units
and foster care services. The remit for inspection of the
Children Detention Schools by the HIQA comes under Sections 85 and 86 of
the
Children Act 2001. Since 2012, the remit has been extended to include child
protection and welfare services.
Children Acts Advisory
Board
- The
Children Acts Advisory Board (CAAB) was established under the Child Care
(Amendment) Act 2007. It replaced the former Special
Residential Services Board
(see Ireland’s second
report)[28]. This Act broadened the
remit of the CAAB to allow it to become an enhanced advisory and enabling body
whose functions included providing
advice to the Ministers for Health and
Children, and for Justice and Equality on policy issues relating to the
coordinated delivery
of services to at-risk children/young people, specifically
under the Child Care Act 1991 and the Children Act 2001.
- The
CAAB was dissolved with effect from 8 September 2011 under the Child Care
(Amendment) Act 2011. The functions vested in the Minister
for Health under the
Child Care Acts 1991 to 2011 were transferred to the Minister for Children and
Youth Affairs with effect from
1 October 2011.
Mental
health
- Ireland’s
second report outlined the legislative provisions in this area under the Mental
Health Act 2001 as they pertain to
children over 16 years of
age.[29]
- The
Mental Health Act was fully commenced in August 2006. The Mental Health Act 2001
is currently under review. The review is been
carried out in two phases. Phase 1
involved the establishment of a Steering Group to identify key elements of the
Act to be further
identified. The interim report of the Steering Group was
published in June 2012 and is available at www.dohc.ie/publications/int_report_sg_reviewMHA.html.
The Interim Review made a number of recommendations in relation to children,
which include:
- Provisions
relating to children should be included in a standalone Part of the Act and any
provision of the Child Care Act 1991 which
apply should be expressly included
rather than cross-referenced;
- Children aged 16
or 17 should be presumed to have capacity to consent/refuse mental healthcare
and treatment;
- A child should
be defined as a person under 18 and thus brought into line with the Children Act
2001.
- The
second and substantive phase of the review involved the establishment of an
Expert Group. Its members are currently continuing
their deliberations and are
expected to produce their report in Quarter 2,
2013.
H. Adoption, national and
intercountry
- The
DCYA is responsible for matters relating to the formulation of adoption
legislation, including secondary legislation, and public
policy issues on
adoption. The Adoption Authority of Ireland (AAI) was established on 1 November
2010 under the Adoption Act 2010.
The AAI is the statutory body charged with
implementing the Adoption Act 2010 and is the central authority in Ireland for
intercountry
adoption. The AAI has responsibility for the direct operational
implementation of legislation and government policy.
- The
Adoption Act 2010 commenced on 1 November 2010, coinciding with Ireland’s
ratification of the Hague Convention on Protection
of Children and Cooperation
in respect of Intercountry Adoption. This legislation, which incorporates the
provisions of the Hague
Convention, is designed to provide a framework to ensure
that appropriate adoption procedures have been followed and that all adoptions
are effected in the best interests of the child. Future intercountry adoption
arrangements will be governed by the terms of the Adoption
Act 2010. With effect
from 1 November 2010, intercountry adoptions can be effected only with countries
that have ratified the Hague
Convention or with which Ireland has a bilateral
agreement.
- The
AAI is working to establish administrative arrangements with other Hague
countries in relation to intercountry adoptions, as provided
for under
Section 72 of the Adoption Act. The AAI maintains contact with a number of
other jurisdictions in order to make contact
with their central authorities and
advise as to Irish processes and procedures, assess the need for additional
administrative arrangements
or agreements, and gather as much information as
possible of relevance to prospective adopters from those countries. The visits
also
provide opportunities to streamline processes on both sides and to receive
up-to-date information for prospective adopters on developments
in these
countries.
- The
negotiation of bilateral agreements on intercountry adoption is primarily the
responsibility of the AAI. As the Hague Convention
is designed to ensure a
minimum set of standards in intercountry adoption, the AAI has indicated that
their first priority is to
reach agreements on arrangements with other Hague
countries.
- The
negotiation of bilateral agreements on intercountry adoption with States that
have not ratified the Hague Convention is governed
by Section 73 of the
Adoption Act 2010, which states that “the Authority, with the prior
consent of the Minister, may enter
into discussions with any non-contracting
State concerning the possibility of the Government entering into a bilateral
agreement
with that State”. Any bilateral arrangements that might be
entered into would be required by law to meet the minimum standards
set out in
the Hague Convention.
I. Illicit
transfer and non-return
- The
Child Abduction and Enforcement of Custody Orders Act 1991 deals with the
abduction of children under the age of 16 across international
frontiers in
defiance of a court order or against the wishes of a parent or guardian with
custody rights. The Act deals primarily
with child abduction by one parent
against the wishes of another. The Act gives the force of law in Ireland to two
international
conventions: the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of
International Child Abduction and the Luxembourg Convention on Recognition
and
Enforcement of Decisions Concerning Custody of Children and on Restoration of
Custody of Children.
- Ireland
has also recently ratified the 1996 Hague Convention on Jurisdiction, Applicable
Law, Recognition, Enforcement and Cooperation
in respect of Parental
Responsibility and Measures for the Protection of Children. This Convention is
broad in scope and supplements
the provisions of the 1980 Hague Convention. The
Protection of Children (Hague Convention) Act 2000 gives force of law within the
State to the 1996 Convention and was commenced on 1 January 2011. Ireland was
among the first States to legislate for the Convention,
although ratification by
EU Member States was delayed pending resolution of issues of EU competence and
authorisation.
- In
addition to the above-mentioned Conventions, custody matters in the EU are
covered by Brussels II, which came into effect on 1
March 2005 (see
para. 377).
- All
these instruments required the establishment of a Central Authority in
contracting States. The Minister for Justice and Equality
is designated as the
Central Authority in Ireland. The Conventions and the EC Regulations have proved
to be of substantial benefit
in Ireland.
- When
a foreign application for the return of a child is received in Ireland, it is
generally referred by the Central Authority to
the Legal Aid Board for relevant
proceedings to be taken before the High Court. Foreign applicants under all
these Conventions and
EC Regulations are entitled to free legal aid in Ireland,
irrespective of means, and the Central Authority itself imposes no charge
for
its services. Table 8 shows the number of children abducted into and out of
Ireland during the period
2006-2010.
Table
8
Number of children abducted from and to Ireland (new
applications), 2006-2010
Year
|
2006
|
2007
|
2008
|
2009
|
2010
|
Children abducted into Ireland
|
72
|
60
|
70
|
61
|
64
|
Children abducted from Ireland
|
39
|
39
|
71
|
75
|
76
|
Total
|
111
|
99
|
141
|
136
|
140
|
- Section 37
of the Child Abduction and Enforcement of Custody Orders Act 1991 gives the
Gardaí power to detain a child whom
they reasonably suspect is being
removed from the State in breach of any custody order, or while proceedings in
relation to custody
orders are pending or about to be made.
- In
May 2012, the Gardaí Síochána launched Child Rescue Ireland
(CRI) Alert. This is a multi-agency alert system
that seeks the assistance of
the public in tracing abducted children. A CRI Alert will only be
initiated when there is reasonable belief that an immediate and serious risk to
the health and welfare of the
abducted child exists. The Garda Press and Public
Relations Office will provide relevant information to the media and information
broadcasters in order to alert the public and seek their
help.
J. Abuse and neglect,
including physical and psychological recovery and social integration
- Measures
undertaken in this area are outlined in other chapters of this report and
include the revision of the Children First: National
Guidance in 2011 and
forthcoming legislation to put these guidelines on a statutory basis.
- The
HSE National Child Care Information System project is progressing and is now at
procurement stage. This will see the creation
of a central database that will
hold details of all children in care, as well as those about whom social workers
have concerns. This
has been a complex project from scoping to commissioning
stage. Formal approval for the award of the contract has now been
received.
VI. Disability, basic
health and welfare
A. Children with disabilities
- Ireland’s
second report elaborated comprehensively on the provisions for children with
disabilities.[30] The following
provides an update on provisions in this area.
Data on children
with disabilities
- In
2011, the Census of Population recorded 66,437 children with disabilities. This
represents 5.8% of the total child population in
Ireland.
- The
National Physical and Sensory Disability Database reported upon in
Ireland’s second report[31] is
now fully operational and provides a wide range of data on the number of adults
and children with disabilities. In 2007, 8,373
children were recorded on the
database. In 2011, this number had decreased to 8,034. In both years, children
accounted for just over
30% of all those included on the database.
- The
National Intellectual Disability Database (see Ireland’s second
report)[32] indicates that there
were 7,802 children registered as having an intellectual disability in 2007. By
2011, this number had increased
to 8,852.
Multi Annual
Investment Programme, 2005-2008
- In
the 2008 budget, €9.8 million was provided to create 140 additional
multidisciplinary team posts in order to provide assessment
and ongoing
intervention services to children with disabilities. An additional €20
million was provided in Budget 2009 for
health and education services for
children with special needs, €10 million of which provided 125 additional
therapy posts in
the HSE targeted at children of school-going
age.
Office for Disability and Mental Health, 2008-2012
- In
2006, a cross-sectoral team was established to provide for a joint approach by
the Department of Health and the Department of Education
and Skills to the
implementation of the Disability Act 2005 and the Education for Persons with
Special Educational Needs (EPSEN)
Act 2004. The team includes senior officials
from both Departments, as well as representatives from the HSE and the National
Council
for Special Education. The Office for Disability and Mental Health was
established in 2008 with the aim of improving the way in which
public services
respond to the needs of people with disabilities and mental health issues,
including children, by fostering greater
collaboration between relevant
government departments. Its remit included facilitating the delivery of
integrated health and education
support services for children with special
needs. It was also charged with progressing implementation of Part 2 of the
Disability
Act 2005, which provides disabled individuals with an entitlement to
an independent assessment of need and a statement of proposed
services to be
provided, and allows them to pursue a complaint and, if necessary, make an
appeal to the independent Disability Appeals
Officer. Part 2 of the Act was
commenced on 1 June 2007 in respect of children under the age of 5 years. It had
been intended to
have both the Disability Act 2005 and the EPSEN Act 2004 fully
implemented during 2010 for children and young people aged 5-18. However,
in
2008 the then Government decided, in light of financial circumstances, to defer
further implementation of both Acts. Notwithstanding
this, the cross-sectoral
team continues to meet to address issues of mutual concern for children with
disabilities.
HSE Progressing Disability Services for Children
and Young People Programme – ongoing since 2010
- In
2008, a National Reference Group on Multidisciplinary Disability Services for
Children aged 5-18 was convened to report in an advisory
capacity to the HSE
within the context of implementing the EPSEN and Disability Acts. This report,
submitted in December 2009, recommends
a realignment of existing statutory and
non-statutory resources to achieve a more integrated model of care and support
for school-age
children with disabilities.
- In
response, the HSE established a programme in 2010 on Progressing Disability
Services for Children and Young People aged up to 18
years, supported by a
National Coordinating Group with representation from the Departments of Health,
and Education and Skills. The
programme, which is ongoing at present, aims to
address a number of key issues in relation to children’s disability
services,
including inequity of access to services due to inconsistent
development of these services across the country. The overall vision
is to
provide one clear pathway to services for all children with disabilities,
according to need, with the health and education
sectors collaborating to
support children to achieve their full potential.
HSE Autism
Review
- The
HSE published the National Review of Autism Services: Past, Present and Way
Forward in 2012. It recommends a move to a more consistent model of service
delivery in line with the mainstreaming policy of equal access
for people with
disabilities to appropriate services. It also endorses the policy framework set
out in the Report of the National Reference Group on Multidisciplinary
Disability Services for Children aged 5-18 (HSE, 2009). Services for
children and young people with autism up to the age of 18 will be re-configured
as part of the Progressing
Disability Services for Children and Young People
(0-18 years) Programme.
Report of the Working Group on
Respite/Residential Care with Host Families in Community Settings
- This
HSE Working Group carried out a national overview of models of respite and
residential care with host families in community settings
to determine the
viability and future development of these models of service delivery for people
with intellectual disabilities.
The group found that approximately 263 children
with disabilities used this service in 2011. The report was published in 2012
and
makes a number of recommendations in relation to the staffing, financing and
governance of this type of care (HSE, 2012c).
National Housing
Strategy for People with Disabilities
- The
National Housing Strategy for People with a Disability, 2011-2016 was launched
in October 2011. It was developed by the Department
of the Environment,
Community and Local Government, in collaboration with the Department of Health.
It provides that people with
disabilities and/or a mental health issue are
entitled to an assessment of need for local authority housing. Among the key
actions
included in this policy is a commitment to ensuring that current and
future needs of children with disabilities are made central
considerations
during the process of allocating housing to families. An Implementation
Framework Plan was launched in July 2012 and
sets out a range of priority
actions in support of the strategy.
Registration and Inspection
of Residential Services for People with Disabilities
- Standards
for an independent inspection system in relation to residential services for
people with disabilities, both children and
adults, were originally published by
the Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA) in 2009 and a revised draft
of these standards
was the subject of public consultation in late 2012. The
standards provide a national framework for safe quality services aimed at
people
with disabilities in residential settings. The current Programme for Government
2011-2016 includes a commitment to putting
these standards on a statutory
footing and discussions are ongoing between the Department of Health and HIQA to
progress this commitment,
with a view to introducing the standards and
appropriate regulations in mid-2013.
Transport Access for
All
- The
Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport is working towards improving
transport facilities for people with mobility and sensory
impairments (see
Ireland’s second report).[33]
The Department’s Sectoral Plan under the Disability Act 2005, Transport
Access for All, was first published in 2006 and was later reviewed in
2008. A further review of the plan commenced with a public consultation process
in 2011, with an updated plan expected during 2012.
- Transport
Access for All, which was developed in consultation with key
stakeholders, sets out a series of policy objectives and targets for all
modes of public transport to make them accessible to people with mobility,
sensory and cognitive impairments. It also covers parking facilities for
motorists with disabilities and includes a section on roads
policy. It
acknowledges the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, and the
Centre for Excellence in Universal Design
established under the Disability Act
2005.
- To
date, there has been a significant increase in the numbers of accessible
vehicles in both urban and rural areas, along with improved
access to much of
the public transport infrastructure. Changes have occurred in the manner in
which transport services are delivered
and in the research and consultation
necessary to provide the groundwork for further accessibility measures. Many
targets have already
been achieved and work on outstanding targets is
ongoing.
B. Traveller health
- According
to the 2011 Census of Population, there are 14,245 Traveller children in
Ireland. This marks an increase of 30.3% on the
2006 figure of 10,929.
- In
2010, the Department of Health published the All-Ireland Traveller Health
Study: Our Geels, the first such study conducted since 1987 (All-Ireland
Traveller Health Study Team, 2010). This study provides information regarding
mothers’ perceptions of their children’s health for 5, 9 and 14
year-olds. The vast majority of children (in excess of
90%) were reported to be
in good health, although the rate among 9-year-olds was slightly lower that that
reported in the Growing Up in Ireland study for the general population
(see paras. 491-492).
- The
reported health conditions of Traveller children were on a par with those of the
general population, and better in some cases.
However, a number of health issues
for Traveller children were identified. Breastfeeding rates among young
Traveller mothers are
very low, a higher proportion of babies are underweight at
birth and a considerably higher proportion of Traveller children did not
receive
required medical attention for a problem compared to other socio-economic groups
in the general population. Reported consumption
of fruit and vegetables was
higher among Traveller children aged 9, although Traveller children were also
more likely to have salt
added to their food.
- As
part of the All-Ireland Traveller Health Study, a follow-up study on Traveller
children born between 14 October 2009 and 13 October
2010 was also undertaken
(All-Ireland Traveller Health Study Team, 2011). This study revealed that the
infant mortality rate among
Travellers in the period 2000-2009 was 12 per 1,000,
almost four times the rate among the general population; only 2% of Traveller
mothers initiated breastfeeding, compared to 48% of mothers in the Growing Up in
Ireland study; and rates of immunisation were considerably
lower among Traveller
children. The discouragement to breastfeed, until negative test results for
galactosaemia have been received,
has been identified as a barrier to
breastfeeding for Traveller women in the report An assessment of the barriers
to breastfeeding and the service needs of families and communities in Ireland
with low breastfeeding
rates (Doyle et al., 2009). The need for improved
reporting systems and extra supports to initiate and maintain lactation have
also been
identified.
- The
National Intercultural Health Strategy, 2007-2012 recognises Travellers as
Ireland’s most long-standing cultural minority
group and one that is at
greater risk of poor health. Further, it recognises that Traveller children are
at particular risk. This
applies equally to Roma children who are an especially
vulnerable group, and considerable work has taken place around this area.
HSE
National Social Inclusion was able to facilitate the appointment of a Roma
Outreach worker, with a remit around linking families
into health services. A
series of seminars was co-hosted by the HSE and Pavee Point on issues faced by
this group, as well as by
service providers in responding to their needs. Issues
of child protection were the focus of one seminar and a report is due to be
signed off imminently in relation to this. There is ongoing inter-agency work on
advancing care priorities of vulnerable children,
including Traveller and Roma
children. Establishment of a Children First committee within the Social
Inclusion Care group will incorporate
Traveller representation, which will
facilitate attention to the specific needs of Traveller
children.
C. Survival and
development
- Measures
to promote the survival and development of the child were reported on in
Ireland’s second report[34]
and summarised in Chapter 2 of this report. The following section reports on
additional measures and progress.
Immunisation
- The
National Immunisation Office (NIO) was established in 2005 to coordinate the
implementation of standardised high-quality immunisation
programmes in Ireland.
Immunisation against a wide range of diseases is provided free of charge to all
children. A schedule of immunisation
begins at birth and extends to 13 months,
with “boosters” for specific diseases being provided for preschool
children.
- Immunisation
rates are generally improving in Ireland. In 2011, the national uptake rates for
children at 12 months of age were 90%
for D 3, P3,
T3, Hib3, Polio3, HepB3,
MenC2 and PCV2, and 85% (based on available data) for
BCG.
- In
2011, the national uptake rates of D 3, P3, T3,
Hib3, Polio3 and HepB3 for children at 24
months of age reached the target of 95%. The national uptake rates at 24 months
of age were 92% for MMR1, 90% for PCV3, 88% for
Hibb and 84% for MenC3. There was a dramatic decline in
MenC3 uptake and a decline in Hibb in the Quarter 3 of
2010, following the introduction of the new childhood immunisation schedule.
Under the new immunisation schedule,
the third dose of MenC vaccine and Hib
booster vaccine are now recommended at 13 months of age, suggesting that parents
are less
likely to get the necessary vaccines for their children at 13 months of
age.
- The
Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine protects girls from developing cervical
cancer when they are adults and is provided free of
charge by the HSE. The
national HPV vaccination programme has been extended since September 2011 and
all girls in the first year
of second-level schools are now targeted in a
school-based programme to ensure high vaccine uptake. There was also a catch-up
programme
for all girls in their sixth year of second-level school in September
2011. This will be repeated in September 2012 and 2013, and
will result in all
unvaccinated girls in the Senior Cycle of second-level schools being offered HPV
vaccine.
Breastfeeding
- In
2005, the Department of Health and Children published Breastfeeding in
Ireland: A Five-year Strategic Action Plan, and a National Breastfeeding
Strategy Implementation Committee was appointed in 2007. The Action Plan
contains five high-level goals
and includes measures to improve standards and
services for expectant and newly breastfeeding mothers, implement health service
policies
and provide training programmes for healthcare professionals, educate
school children on breastfeeding, regulate the marketing of
breast milk
substitutes, provide community supports for mothers to encourage longer-term
breastfeeding, and improve facilities and
working conditions for breastfeeding
mothers. The Action Plan set a target of increasing the rate of breastfeeding by
2% per year
and by 4% per year among women from lower socio-economic groups, who
had a lower rate of breastfeeding. It also set targets in relation
to the
appointment of regional breastfeeding coordinators and the development of a
child health information system, which have not
been achieved to date. The
number of designated Baby-Friendly Hospitals in Ireland has increased and in
2011, 41.76% of births occurred
in such hospitals. In 2012, the HSE adopted an
Infant Feeding Policy for Maternity and Neonatal Units, based on the 10 Steps of
the
WHO/UNICEF Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative.
- Overall,
breastfeeding rates (including exclusive breastfeeding and combined feeding) are
increasing in Ireland. In 2005, 47.5% of
babies were breastfed on discharge from
hospital. This had increased to 50.9% by 2008 and to 55.2% by 2011. Despite
this, information
from the Growing Up in Ireland study indicates that Ireland
has the lowest breastfeeding rate in Europe. Although 55% of new mothers
in
Ireland are breastfeeding to some extent, only 38% continue to do so after one
month and less than 15% continue up to 6 months.
Socio-economic differentials,
however, still apply.
- In
2007, the HSE launched the website www.breastfeeding.ie to provide expectant
and breastfeeding mothers with information on breastfeeding and local support
services. The HSE has also produced
a number of guides for mothers on
breastfeeding, including a guide on ways to continue breastfeeding after a
return to work. Entitlement
to “lactation breaks” following return
to work after 26 weeks’ maternity leave has been provided for civil
service
workers. This is the only sector of the workforce to which this applies.
Ireland has only partially adopted the International Code
of Marketing of
Breastmilk Substitutes (and subsequent World Health Assembly resolutions) into
national legislation.
D. Health and
health services, particularly primary care
- The
primary care strategy entitled A New Direction was published by the
Department of Health and Children in 2001 and remains the main strategy in
relation to primary care in Ireland.
The key objective of the strategy is to
develop services in the community that will give individuals direct access to
integrated
multidisciplinary teams consisting of general practitioners, nurses,
physiotherapists, occupational therapists and other medical
staff. Additional
services, such as speech and language therapy, dietetic and podiatry services
will be provided on a network basis.
The implementation of the strategy is
ongoing, with the process expected to be fully implemented in coming years. The
continued development
of primary care teams and the provision of GP out-of-hours
service are fundamental to providing individuals easier access to care
closer to
their homes. The number of teams was 425 at the end of 2011, with a plan to have
489 in place by the end of 2012.
- The
Programme for Government 2011-2016 provides for significant strengthening
of primary care services to deliver Universal Primary Care (UPC), with the
removal of cost
as a barrier to access for patients. The Government has also
given its approval for a policy of phased introductions of free GP care,
in line
with the Programme for Government 2011-2016. It is expected that the first phase
in the Programme will provide for the extension
of access to GP services without
fees to people with illnesses or disabilities, to be prescribed by regulations
under new legislation
currently being prepared by the Department of Health.
- In
June 2011, the Government launched an initiative aimed at producing a new policy
framework that will set out a long-term vision
for the health and well-being of
the population. Work on this policy framework is ongoing. The final policy
document, Your Health is Your Wealth, will address a number of
child-related health and well-being issues.
- The
national review of child health services resulted in the strategic report
Best Health for Children – Developing a Partnership with Families
(BHFC), published in 1999. This included an outline of a core programme for
child health surveillance. In line with an evidence-based
approach, a review of
the BHFC was carried out in 2004, resulting in the publication of Best Health
for Children Revisited in October 2005. This report recommended changes in
the core health programme for children in the following 8 areas: developmental
assessment; hearing assessment; vision screening; medical examination; health
promotion and education; metabolic screening; growth
monitoring; and oral and
dental health.
- On
the basis of Best Health for Children Revisited, a new national programme
for neonatal hearing screening has been introduced on a phased basis. Metabolic
screening has been reconfigured
as a National Newborn Blood-spot Screening
Programme with a new governance structure, and neonatal screening for cystic
fibrosis
has been successfully introduced. In relation to growth measurement,
Ireland adopted the UK–WHO growth charts for all newborn
infants from
January 2013, and a programme of training has been introduced to support this. A
review of community medical services
has recently been completed that will see
the service refocus on child health. A child health task force was established,
which is
reviewing implementation of the 2005 review to develop potential new
ways forward for the sector.
- As
a result of the restructuring of the former Health Boards into the HSE structure
in 2005, the Programme for Action for Children
that came out of BHFC was
disbanded. However, a number of the training elements in child health screening
and surveillance that were
initiated under BHFC continued and additional modules
on Food and Nutrition and Child Emotional and Mental Health have been
introduced.
- Child
and adolescent health programmes are now managed and delivered as part of the
Integrated Services Department of the HSE.
- There
are a wide range of services available to support children’s primary
healthcare. Many of these are delivered under the
Child Health Programme,
including the PHN service, General Practitioner Service, Community Health
Service, Children’s Dental
Service, Paediatric Audiology Service,
Community Ophthalmology and Orthoptistry Service for children with visual
defects, Physiotherapy
Service, Occupational Therapy Service, Speech and
Language Service, Psychology Service and Community Nutrition Service.
- Ireland
has three dedicated paediatric hospitals – Our Lady’s
Children’s Hospital, Children’s University Hospital
and the National
Children’s Hospital – all of which are located in Dublin. These
provide a total of 390 paediatric beds
and 12 operating theatres. Each hospital
also provides a 24-hour emergency department. Other acute facilities operate
paediatric
wards of varying sizes.
- The
Programme for Government 2011-2016 contains a commitment to building a new
National Children’s Hospital to replace the three
existing
children’s hospitals. In February 2012, An Bord Pleanála (the
Planning Authority) rejected the planning application
for the construction of
the new national paediatric hospital on the site of the Mater Misericordiae
Hospital in Dublin city. Following
this rejection, the Minister for Health
established an Expert Group to consider the implications of the decision. The
Terms of Reference
for the group were agreed by the Government in March 2012,
and, given the completion of the work of the Expert Group, the Government
has
selected a new site for the National Children’s Hospital – St.
James’s – and confirmed its commitment
to the project.
- The
HSE has established a National Clinical Programme for Paediatrics and a suite of
national guidance and protocols on paediatric
care is currently being
developed.
- In
2009, the Department of Health and Children published Palliative Care for
Children with Life-Limiting Conditions in Ireland: A National Policy. This
policy recommends the development and delivery of palliative care services for
children through primary care services and their
implementation on a phased
basis. It aims to ensure that all children with life-limiting conditions should
have the choice and opportunity
to be cared for at home and therefore it
prioritises community-based care for palliative children. It is estimated that
approximately
1,400 children are living with life-limiting conditions in Ireland
and that there are approximately 490 childhood deaths per year.
Approximately
350 are a result of these life-limiting conditions.
- The
priorities for palliative care for this year are set out in the HSE Service Plan
2012. This includes completion of Phase 1 of
the report Palliative Care for
Children with Life-Limiting Conditions, which involves the appointment of
Ireland’s first paediatric palliative care consultant and eight outreach
nurses for HSE
regions to underpin the new service. This initiative was
undertaken on a funding partnership basis with the Irish Hospice Foundation.
In
addition, the HSE and the Foundation are working closely to develop continuing
education programmes for children with life-limiting
conditions. The delivery of
these has been supported by the Centre of Children’s Nurse Education,
based in Our Lady’s
Children’s Hospital,
Crumlin.
E. Efforts to address the
most prevalent health challenges and promote the physical and mental health and
well-being of children,
and to prevent and deal with communicable and
non-communicable diseases
- The
health of Irish children is generally good. The infant mortality rate fell from
3.9 per 1,000 in 2007 to 3.4 per 1,000 in 2011.
In the Growing Up in Ireland
study, 98% of 3year-olds were described by their mothers as either “very
healthy” or “healthy”
with a few minor problems. Just 2% were
described as being “sometimes quite ill”, with 0.3% being described
by their
mothers as “almost always unwell”. Similar proportions were
also reported by mothers of 9-year-olds in all descriptive
categories.
- Slightly
less than 16% of 3-year-olds were reported by their mother as having a
long-standing illness, condition or disability, with
asthma being the most
commonly reported condition, present in 5.8% of children. Just over one-tenth
(11%) of 9-year-olds were reported
as having a chronic health condition. The
most frequently reported conditions were respiratory conditions (46%) and mental
and behavioural
conditions (19%).
Obesity
- The
Growing Up in Ireland study also provides information on obesity among 3 and 9
year-olds. Almost one-fifth (19%) of both 3-year-olds
and 9-year-olds were found
to be overweight, with 6% of 3-year-olds and 7% of 9-year-olds being obese.
- Obesity
– The Policy Challenges: The Report of the National Task Force on
Obesity, published in 2005, recognised the need to target childhood obesity.
In 2008, the HSE launched the Framework for Action on Obesity,
2008-2012, which
has the following five strategic priorities, each supported by a series of
specific actions:
- To enhance
effectiveness in surveillance, research, monitoring and evaluation of
obesity;
- To develop a
quality uniform approach to the detection and management of obesity;
- To develop a
capacity to prevent overweight and obesity and promote health;
- To communicate
messages on obesity in an effective manner;
- To proactively
engage with and support the work of other sectors in addressing the determinants
of obesity and the obesogenic environment.
- The
Framework for Action contained a detailed implementation plan that included a
number of measures specifically aimed at addressing
childhood obesity.
- In
2011, the Minister for Health established a Special Action Group on Obesity
(SAGO), including representatives from the DCYA, DES,
HSE, Food Safety Authority
of Ireland (FSAI) and Safefood (the all-Ireland Food Safety Promotion Board).
SAGO focuses on a specific
range of measures, including the Healthy Eating
Guidelines for the Irish population, restricting the marketing of food and drink
high in fat, sugar or salt to children, nutritional labelling, calorie posting
on restaurant menus, the promotion of physical activity
and the detection and
treatment of obesity.
- SAGO
has undertaken a number of actions to address obesity to date. These include
revising the Healthy Eating Guidelines, including
the Food Pyramid, to help
inform individuals about food and drink choices required for health, outlining
in plain and simple language
the food servings needed by the Irish population to
maintain health and well-being; promoting calorie posting on restaurant and
coffee
shop menus; initiating a consultation process involving the FSAI with the
aim of determining the next steps in the process of combating
obesity; and
agreeing an adult treatment algorithm with health care professionals.
- A
number of issues are currently being addressed by SAGO. These include current
research, in association with the DCYA through Growing
Up in Ireland, to
establish the use and types of foods and drinks stocked in vending machines in
post-primary schools, an initiative
that is supported by Food and Drink Industry
Ireland and its members; a planned Health Impact Assessment on the potential
effects
of a tax on sugar sweetened drinks; the development of a treatment
algorithm for children, which is at the final stages of agreement
and will soon
be available to aid healthcare professionals in the monitoring and treatment of
obesity at primary care level; the
potential for opportunistic screening and
monitoring, with a view to enabling earlier detection of overweight and obesity
in children;
and a submission to the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland seeking
to have a 9 p.m. watershed imposed on the advertising of foods
high in fat,
salt and sugar, and drinks high in sugar, so as to protect children’s
health.
- A
number of additional measures and initiatives are underway that will also impact
on obesity:
- The HSE has
recently redeveloped the Get Ireland Active website (www.getactive.ie), which provides the
National Physical Activity Guidelines and which has been further developed into
a one-stop shop for physical
activity information.
- A National
Physical Activity Plan is currently being considered by the Department of
Health.
- Your Health is
Your Wealth: A Policy Framework for a Healthier Ireland, 20122020 aims to
develop a high-level policy framework for
public health. Following extensive
consultation, drafting of the policy has now commenced. All the initiatives
currently being considered
by SAGO will form part of the development of this
policy framework, which aims to enhance the health and well-being of all the
population.
- 20 local
authorities took part in National Recreation Week 2011, a sister event to the
National Play Day, which is aimed at younger
children. Participation in both
events has increased from 25% of local authorities in 2009 to approximately 75%
in 2011, and in 2012
all 34 local authorities participated. Both events are
aimed at promoting play and recreation, both physical and cultural, for children
and young people and encouraging children and parents to lead a less sedentary
lifestyle. The DCYA offers small individual grants
to local authorities to
encourage participation and partially cover costs.
- The Minister for
Children and Youth Affairs recently launched the Local Authority and Recreation
Network, which for the first time
brings together relevant staff from the local
authority sector involved in the provision of play and recreation services to
local
communities. The initial aim is to share best practice information and
encourage mutual cooperation where relevant.
- The Active
School Flag Campaign is a DES scheme established to recognise schools that
provide quality physical education, sports and
physical activity programmes for
their students. It is open to primary, post-primary and special needs schools,
and potentially Youthreach
centres. Over 70 schools have been accredited with
the Active School Flag and more than 750 schools have registered their interest
in this initiative online.
- In June 2011,
the DCYA met with ILAM (the umbrella body for the leisure industry), who jointly
operate a range of local authority
leisure centres. ILAM is keen to progress
anti-obesity initiatives and is already working with the HSE on a GP referral
scheme for
overweight children that could serve as a model for children and
young people. ILAM will address the Local Authority Play and Recreation
Network
in 2012 to discuss further possibilities in this area.
- The Points for
Life Initiative is led by one of Ireland’s senators, initiated by him in
response to his concern at rising obesity
levels. The DCYA, DES, DoH and
Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport are represented on the national
steering group for this
policy initiative, which is aimed at improving the
physical fitness of children in Irish schools. A pilot programme is due to be
introduced in 2012.
- The Food Dudes
Programme is an award-winning programme developed by the Food and Activity
Research Unit, Bangor University, Wales,
aimed at encouraging children to eat
more fruit and vegetables in school and at home. It is based on positive role
models (the Food
Dudes characters), repeated tasting and rewards. The Food Dudes
Programme in Ireland was drawn up by the Department of Agriculture,
Food and the
Marine with An Bord Bia (which fund and manage it respectively), in consultation
with the DES, DoH and DSP. The programme
is intended to be introduced to all
primary schools over the next number of years, contingent on funding. To date,
it has been run
in 2,108 schools (64% of all primary schools), with 9.8 million
portions of fruit and vegetables having been distributed to 309,000
children. It
is proposed to introduce it to a further 390 schools (approximately 61,000
children) during the 2012/13 school year.
- The National
Strategy for Research and Data on Children’s Lives, 2011-2016 includes
actions with regard to data and research
on obesity, nutrition and physical
activity, including analysis of existing datasets on nutrition and physical
activity, development
of suitable measures for monitoring outcomes, and
examination of options to extend and improve existing data collection tools
–
all of which have been agreed with a number of relevant stakeholders,
including the National Nutrition Surveillance Centre, the HSE
and the Irish
Sports Council.
- Building on
previous work undertaken between 2008 and 2011, the Broadcasting Authority of
Ireland is currently undertaking a review
of its General and Children’s
Commercial Communications Codes. The review is focused on whether and how the
promotion to children
of food and drink high in fat, salt and sugar should be
regulated on Irish radio and television. Later this year, the BAI will consider
the outcomes of the second stage public consultation on this issue with a view
to introducing new rules early in
2013.
Exercise
- The
2006 Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC) Survey revealed that
over half of primary school children did not achieve the recommended level of
physical activity, while
among older children, aged 15 years, almost 9 out of 10
girls and 7 out of 10 boys did not achieve the recommended level. In 2009,
a study commissioned by the Irish Sports Council revealed that only 19% of
primary school children and 12% of post-primary school
children met the
Department of Health and Children’s physical activity recommendations of
at least 60 minutes of moderate to
vigorous physical activity per day. These
proportions have not improved since the previous study in 2004.
- More
positively, the 2010 HBSC Survey revealed that 53.1% of children aged 10-17
reported being physically active for at least 60
minutes per day on more than 4
days per week.
- The
National Steering Committee on Physical Activity is currently developing a
national physical activity policy for Ireland. This
policy will make specific
recommendations in relation to children’s levels of activity and measures
to increase this.
- The
HSE operates the Get Ireland Active website (www.getactive.ie), which provides a range of
advice and information on physical activity, including the promotion of physical
activity among children
(see paras. 500-501). In addition, the HSE has
produced the National Physical Activity Guidelines, which include a section on
ways
to promote physical activity among children and young
people.
Child and adolescent mental health
- A
Vision for Change: Report of the Expert Group on Mental Health Policy,
published by the Department of Health and Children in 2006, presents a blueprint
for the development of a modern and high-quality
mental health service. This
national health strategy acknowledged the gaps in the provision of child and
adolescent mental health
services and made a number of recommendations for the
improvement of these services, highlighting the particular need for additional
child and adolescent in-patient beds and multidisciplinary teams. In recent
years, the HSE has placed a particular emphasis on developing
child and
adolescent mental health services, improving in-patient access and addressing
waiting times for assessment. Significant
progress has been made in this area.
It is intended that in-patient and community-based services will continue to be
developed in
this specific area, including, for example, issues relating to
intellectual disability or to clinical care, such as eating disorders
and
self-harm.
- Key
to the development of the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) is
the establishment of 99 multidisciplinary teams,
of which 61 are currently in
place. In 2011, 56 teams were in place with a staffing of 465 full-time
equivalents, or 64% of the level
recommended. Staffing of both the two
Adolescent Mental Day Hospital teams and the three Liaison Teams stood at 84% of
the recommended
level. In 2011, a total of 8,114 children were offered first
appointments and seen by CAMHS, an increase of 8.5% on the previous
year. CAMHS
have approximately 16,000 open cases at any one time.
- The
2012 Annual CAMHS Report used the 2011 Census data, once it had been confirmed
and available by age rating. It is true that A Vision for Change
“prescribed” services per population. (In fact, it was compelled to
use projected data from the 2001 Census since it
was launched in January 2006,
three months prior to the 2006 Census.) Given that population growth is
predominantly (but not exclusively)
in the under-5 population, this immediately
translates into an increased demand on CAMHS and other children’s
services. The
objective of the Annual CAMHS Report is to provide a comprehensive
and transparent account of existing service capacity, focus and
performance. The
requirement for additional teams is well known and remains a central objective
in HSE service planning. For example,
in 2013 the aim is to recruit an
additional 80 whole-time equivalents (WTEs) to the CAMHS teams (this number is
restricted by the
availability of staff with the requisite skills and aptitude
to work with children with mental health needs).
- The
HSE has almost reversed the profile of children being admitted to adult units,
from 75% to 25%, and the majority are now admitted
to an age-appropriate
setting. The intention is to make further progress against this target as
additional CAMHS beds in 2013 are
commissioned. The Mental Health Commission
recognises the clinical reality that some children will require admission to an
adult
setting due to their particular presentation, maturational attainment,
clinical acuity, physical threat or unsuitability to be admitted
with other
children. Such admissions are short and all children admitted to an adult
setting will have a dedicated staff resource
assigned to them.
- In
2012, a special allocation of €35 million was provided, primarily to
further strengthen Community Mental Health Teams in
both adult and
children’s mental health services, to advance activities in the area of
suicide prevention, to initiate the
provision of psychological and counselling
services in primary care specifically for people with mental health problems,
and to facilitate
the relocation of mental health service users from
institutional care to more independent living arrangements in their communities.
414 posts were approved to implement this package of special measures, including
150 posts in the Child and Adolescent Community
Mental Health Teams.
- A
further €35 million was allocated in Budget 2013 for the continued
development of mental health services across a range of
headings, including the
further development of forensic services and Community Mental Health Teams for
adults, children, older persons
and mental health intellectual disability. 477
additional staff (including 80 staff for Child and Adolescent Mental Health
Services
(CAMHS) and CMHTs) will be recruited to implement these measures.
- With
regard to in-patient facilities, psychiatric bed capacity for children and
adolescents has increased from 12 beds in 2007 to
44 at present. A new child and
adolescent day hospital will also open in Dublin in the near future, which it is
hoped will obviate
the need for some in-patient admissions. Future plans in this
area include the construction of a 22-bed in-patient facility in Dublin
(completion of which is anticipated for late 2013 or early 2014) and the
provision of a 10-bed Child and Adolescent Forensic Mental
Health Unit as part
of the National Forensic Mental Health Project. The Unit will be based in
Dublin, coterminous with the new Central
Mental Hospital, and will be completed
in 2016.
- Measures
on suicide prevention are included in
paragraphs 113-114.
F. Reproductive
health rights of adolescents and measures to promote a healthy
lifestyle
- Data
from the 2010 HBSC Survey indicate that 27% of children aged 15-17 (31% of boys
and 23% of girls) reported having had sex. Of
these, 92% of boys and 95% of
girls reported having used condoms, while 54% of boys and 66% of girls reported
use of the contraceptive
pill. Reported high levels of contraceptive use are
reflected in the falling number of births to teenage mothers. Over the period
2007-2011, the number of births to girls aged 10-17 fell by 36.1%, from 624 to
399.
- In
2010, the functions of the former Crisis Pregnancy Agency (see Ireland’s
second report)[35] were mainstreamed
into the HSE Crisis Pregnancy Programme. The programme runs and funds a range of
programmes to prevent crisis pregnancies,
targeted at particular groups,
including adolescents. Key areas of work under this programme include working
with the DES and National
Youth Council of Ireland to progress the full
implementation of the Relationships and Sexuality Education (RSE) Programme in
schools
and youth work settings; the development, promotion and distribution of
resources for young people and their parents in order to
promote good
communication about sex; providing training to a range of youth organisations to
enable them to deliver RSE to key target
groups; and funding and working with
services to ensure that youth-based services have an RSE component, particularly
services working
with hard-to-reach groups in community settings, such as youth
cafés. The Crisis Pregnancy Programme has also launched a website
(www.b4udecide.ie) that provides information
on sexual health for young people, parents and professionals.
- A
steering group was set up in May 2012 to oversee the drafting of a National
Sexual Health Strategy, which will be submitted to Government
on completion. It
will formulate a strategic direction for the delivery of sexual health services.
The plan will focus on improving
sexual health and well-being, and address the
surveillance, testing, treatment and prevention of HIV and STIs, crisis
pregnancy and
sexual health education and promotion. The strategy will be in
line with the forthcoming Public Health Policy Framework.
- In
2008, the Department of Health and Children published the HIV and AIDS
Education and Prevention Plan, 2008-2012, which identified young people as a
group at particular risk of new infections. The plan contains a number of
actions relating to
young people under the headings of education and raising
awareness, specific interventions, increased screening and testing, research
and
capacity-building, and linkages to relevant policy frameworks. Steady progress
has been achieved in providing education and increased
awareness for young
people. This has been done by:
- Directly
targeting young people;
- Directly
targeting at-risk and vulnerable young people through NGOs such as BeLonG To
(www.belongto.org);
- Providing
information and support to parents as the prime educators of their
children;
- Giving greater
emphasis to engaging directly with young people on their views in regard to
RSE/SPHE (Relationships and Sexuality Education/Social,
Personal and Health
Education) and through NGOs such as SpunOut;
- Included in the
2012 Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC) Survey for the first time
was a question about sexual behaviour;
- BeLonG To and
GLEN (Gay + Lesbian Equality Network) have taken a lead on developing policies
and advising on best practice in regard
to young people who are LGBT;
- Ireland had its
first SHAW (Sexual Health Awareness Week) in May 2012, run by the Royal College
of Surgeons, during which much of
the focus was on young
people.
G. Measures to prohibit and eliminate all
forms of harmful traditional practices
- The
principal harmful traditional practice of concern in Ireland is that of female
genital mutilation (FGM). In 2008, a number of
statutory organisations and NGOs
came together to form a National Steering Committee and develop Ireland’s
National Plan of
Action to Address FGM. One of the key objectives included in
this action plan was to enact legislation to specifically prohibit FGM
in
Ireland, including the principle of extraterritoriality as an extension of
national legislative protection. This was achieved
in the Criminal Justice
(Female Genital Mutilation) Act 2012. The provisions of this Act are outlined in
paragraph 210.
H. Measures to protect children from
substance abuse
Drugs
- The
National Drugs Strategy, 2009-2016 aims to continue efforts to tackle the harm
caused to individuals and society by the misuse
of drugs through a concerted
focus on the five pillars of supply reduction, prevention, treatment,
rehabilitation and research. The
strategy contains a number of measures specific
to young people, primarily in the areas of prevention and treatment. It aims to
delay
the age of first use of illicit drugs, reduce the level of drug misuse
among school students, reduce early school leaving and ensure
that all problem
drugs-users aged under 18 access treatment within two weeks of assessment. The
target of providing access to treatment
of people under 18 within two weeks of
assessment has been reached by the HSE during 2012.
- The
Young People’s Facilities and Services Fund was established by Government
in 1998 to assist in the development of preventative
strategies in a targeted
manner through the development of youth facilities, including sports and
recreational facilities, and services
in disadvantaged areas where a significant
drug problem exists or has the potential to develop. The Fund currently supports
182 projects
and is administered by the DCYA as part of its youth
programme.
Tobacco
- Tobacco
use among children has decreased in Ireland in recent years. In the 2002 HBSC
Survey, 18.6% of children aged 10-17 reported
that they were current smokers
(i.e. smoke monthly or more frequently). This had fallen to 15.3% by 2006 and to
12% by 2010. In the
latter year, 6% of 11, 13 and 15 year-olds in Ireland
reported smoking cigarettes every week, which was substantially below the
average
of 7.7% across the 39 participating HBSC countries and regions.
- Further
provisions of the Public Health (Tobacco) Acts 2002 and 2004 were commenced with
effect from 1 July 2009. They include a ban
on the display and advertising of
tobacco products; a requirement for all tobacco products on sale to be out of
view and stored within
a closed container, which can only be accessed by the
retailer; a requirement for all retailers who wish to sell tobacco products
to
register with the Office of Tobacco Control; and a prohibition on self-service
vending machines except in licensed premises or
in registered clubs. The aim of
these provisions is to further “de-normalise” tobacco and to protect
children from the
dangers of tobacco consumption.
- In
December 2011, regulations were introduced which, effective from February 2013,
will place an obligation on tobacco manufacturers
to include graphic photographs
on the packaging of tobacco products, depicting the negative health impacts
associated with smoking.
- In
June 2011, a new health education campaign aimed at encouraging smokers to quit
was initiated by the HSE. Based on the statistic
that 1 in every 2 smokers will
die of a tobacco-related disease, the campaign highlights the serious impact
that smoking has on smokers
themselves, their friends and their families.
- Section
45 of the Public Health (Tobacco) Acts 2002-2010 prohibits the sale of tobacco
products to persons aged less than 18 years.
A retailer convicted of selling
tobacco products to a person less than 18 years of age may be fined up to
€3,000 and their
registration may be suspended for a period not exceeding
three months as determined by the District Court. This tobacco legislation
is
enforced by the Environmental Health Service of the HSE. As part of the
enforcement of the legislation, the environmental health
officers carry out test
purchasing of tobacco products to minors.
- Cigarette
pricing controls in Ireland are part of a long-running and ambitious effort to
decrease smoking prevalence. Evidence shows
that pricing is a key tool in the
efforts to control smoking, in preventing children and adolescents in particular
from adopting
the habit. Cigarette prices in Ireland are the highest in the
world, according to the WHO Report on the Global Tobacco Epidemic (2009).
Ireland’s 2012 Budget increased the price of a packet of 20 cigarettes by
25 cents, with a pro rata increase on other tobacco
products. The 2013 budget
increased the price of a packet of 20 cigarettes by 10 cents, with a pro rata
increase on other tobacco
products.
- In
order to reduce the prevalence of smoking in Ireland, the Department of Health
initiated a review in order to identify further
policy proposals that may be
introduced with the aim of reducing the prevalence and initiation of smoking in
Ireland. The drafting
of the Report of the Tobacco Policy Review Group is
at an advanced stage of preparation and will have a particular focus on
children.
Alcohol
- Successive
HBSC surveys indicate that the proportion of children aged 10-17 who have never
had an alcoholic drink is increasing. In
2002, 40% of children in this age group
stated that they had never consumed alcohol, compared to 47.2% in 2006 and 54.1%
in 2010.
However, the proportion of Irish 15-year-olds who have consumed
alcohol, standing at 37.2% in 2010, remains high by international
standards when
compared to the HBSC average of 25.2%.
- The
Report of the National Substance Misuse Strategy Steering Group was
launched in February 2012. It contains a range of recommendations, including the
reduction of alcohol consumption in general.
As with the National Drugs
Strategy, 2009-2016 (see para. 517), the report’s recommendations are
grouped under the five pillars
of supply reduction, prevention, treatment,
rehabilitation and research. The report includes a number of recommendations
intended
to impact on alcohol consumption by children and young people,
including an increase in the price of alcohol; commencement of Section
9
(structural separation of alcohol from other products in supermarkets, etc.) of
the Intoxicating Liquor Act 2008; more stringent
controls placed on the
advertising of alcohol in places and times that children are likely to see them;
and the phasing-out of sponsorship
of sport and other large public events by the
drinks industry by 2016.
- Codes
of practice on the placement of alcohol advertising were agreed in 2004 between
the alcohol industry, advertising industry and
Department of Health, and were
further strengthened in 2008. The purpose of these codes is to reduce the
exposure of children and
young people to the marketing of alcohol. Based on
audience profiling, the codes ensure that alcohol advertising/marketing is not
permitted unless the relevant medium has an adult audience profile of more than
75%, while alcohol advertising is limited to no more
than 25% of available space
or time on any given occasion. The majority of members on the Steering Group for
National Substance Misuse
are in favour of stricter controls on alcohol
marketing, primarily to protect children and young people, and they generally
favour
regulatory controls as a means of protecting young people. Real and
tangible proposals are currently being finalised on the basis
of the
recommendations in the National Substance Misuse Strategy
report.
I. Measures to ensure the protection of children with
incarcerated parents and children living in prison with their mothers
- Work
is in progress by the Irish Prison Service and the Probation Service to develop
a strategic action plan targeted at meeting the
specific needs of female
offenders. The two agencies are working together to develop a women-centred
holistic strategy that seeks
to address those factors that lead some women to
come in contact with the criminal justice system, while also seeking to provide
better outcomes for those women for whom the courts deem that a custodial
sanction is warranted.
- The
Irish Prison Service has always been conscious of the need to strike a proper
balance between protecting children and respecting
the rights and needs of
mothers, where the welfare of a child always maintains paramount importance.
Under the Prison Rules 2007,
a child of less than 12 months of age of a female
prisoner may be admitted to a prison and remain with the mother until the child
reaches 12 months of age. Only under exceptional circumstances can the child
remain with the mother after the 12-month period has
elapsed.
- There
is a considerable level of support available for mothers and babies in the
Dóchas Centre (women’s prison). Provisions
are made to facilitate
new mothers keeping their infants with them in custody so as not to disrupt
early bonding. There is currently
one baby in the Dóchas Centre and the
maximum number of babies that have been with mothers, at a given time, in the
Dóchas
Centre in recent years is five. There are also, of course,
occasions when there are no babies in the Dóchas Centre. Each mother
and
child is provided with their own single room with en-suite facilities, and
required items, such as a cot, baby food and nappies,
are also
provided.
J. Social security and childcare services and
facilities
- Ireland’s
second report (2005) provided considerable details about the social security and
other expenditure on children and
families.[36] This section provides
an update on recent developments in this area.
- Universal
Child Benefit is paid in respect of all children up to 16 years of age. The
payment continues to be paid in respect of children
up to their 18th birthday
who are in full-time education or who have a physical or mental disability. In
2011, expenditure on Child
Benefit amounted to €2.08 billion and was paid
to around 600,000 families in respect of some 1.14 million children. Between
2006 and 2009, expenditure on Child Benefit increased from €2 billion to
€2.5 billion as part of a policy of increasing
universal income support to
families. However, given the need to reduce the level of government spending in
the context of the economic
crisis, expenditure on Child Benefit was reduced to
€2.1 billion in 2011 through reductions in rates of payment and the
lowering
of the upper age limit, from 19 years to 18 years.
- In
addition to the universal Child Benefit payment, the social protection system
also provides assistance to low-income families with
children through the
payment of Qualified Child Increases (QCIs) on primary social welfare payments.
In 2011, QCI payments were made
in respect of just over 496,000 children. This
is an increase of 45% on the 2006 figure of 341,336. Almost one-third of QCIs
(30%)
were associated with One-Parent Family Payments. In order to protect
families with children in receipt of social welfare payments
from decreases in
Child Benefit rates, Budget 2010 provided compensatory increases to QCIs. QCI
rates were maintained at the same
level in Budget 2011.
- In
2011, changes were also introduced to One-Parent Family Payments. These propose
a gradual reduction in the maximum age of the youngest
child for whom payment
can be claimed, from 18 years to 7 years by 2014 for new customers and 2015 for
existing customers (see Table
9).
Table
9
Maximum age limit for payment of One-Parent Family Payment,
2013-2015
|
2013
|
2014
|
2015
|
Payment continues up to age
|
If One-Parent Family Payment commenced before 27 April 2011
|
17
|
16
|
7
|
If One-Parent Family Payment commenced between 27 April 2011 and 3 May
2012
|
12
|
10
|
7
|
If One-Parent Family Payment commenced after 3 May 2012
|
10
|
7
|
7
|
Family Income Supplement
- Family
Income Supplement provides income support to employees on low earnings with
children. The payment effectively preserves the
incentive to take up or remain
in employment in circumstances where the employee might be marginally better off
than if he or she
were claiming other social welfare payments. In 2011, 62,281
children were living in families in receipt of this payment, an increase
of
almost 50% on the 2006 figure of 43,861.
Back to School
Clothing and Footwear Scheme
- This
payment is available to families in receipt of a welfare payment, or who are
participating in an approved training or education
scheme and have a household
income below specified thresholds. The number of children benefiting from this
scheme increased from
161,000 in 2006 to over 377,000 in 2011. Expenditure on
the scheme increased almost fourfold in the same period, from €25 million
to €91 million.
Disability Allowance
- Disability
Allowance is paid to people with disabilities and can be claimed by young people
aged 16-18 years. In 2012, 1,681 young
people aged 16 and 17 were in receipt of
Disability Allowance, representing 1.6% of the total number in receipt of this
payment.
Childcare services and facilities
- Childcare
provisions are detailed in chapter 5. In addition to the provisions already
outlined, social welfare recipients may apply
for a Crèche Supplement to
assist with the cost of childcare, where there is a proven ongoing need due to
individual circumstances
and the person is unable to meet these costs from their
own resources. The payment is intended to assist in situations where the
child
might be in difficult circumstances and would benefit from attending a community
crèche. It is also intended to assist
in situations where the parent may
benefit from counselling, addiction or similar services, and crèche
service may facilitate
this.
K. Standard of living and measures,
including material assistance and support programmes with regard to nutrition,
clothing and housing,
to ensure mental, spiritual, moral and social
development, and reduce poverty and inequality
Child poverty in Ireland
- In
2003, the at-risk-of-poverty rate for children (aged 0-17) was 20.9%, which fell
to 18.4% in 2010.[37] The lowest
at-risk-of-poverty rate was 18% in 2008. The pattern with regard to material
deprivation among children indicates an increase
from 19.2% in 2003 to 23.5% in
2009. Again, the pattern over the years is erratic, with a low rate of 16% in
2007, before a rapid
rise to a high of 30.5% in 2010. The consistent poverty
rate for children shows a similar pattern, falling from 8.2% in 2003 to 6.3%
in
2008 before rising to 8.8% in 2010.
- The
2010 data indicate a reversal of recent improvements as the effects of the
economic downturn on families become apparent. Specific
risk factors associated
with child poverty are older children, ill or disabled parent(s), household
unemployment, low education level
of parents, lone-parent families and larger
families.
- Social
transfers play a key role in the reduction of child poverty in Ireland and the
redistributive effect of social transfers (including
child and family benefits)
on the at-risk-of-poverty rate for children has increased. In 2003, the
at-risk-of-poverty rate for children,
excluding social transfers, was 32.8%.
Social transfers reduced this rate to 20.9%, giving a poverty reduction effect
of 36%. Over
time, the at-risk-of-poverty rate for children, excluding social
transfers, has steadily increased – to 51.1% by 2010. However,
social
transfers reduce this to 19.5%. The poverty reduction effect of social transfers
had thus risen to over 60% by 2010.
- Tackling
child poverty is a priority for the Government. Four of the 12 high-level goals
in the National Action Plan for Social Inclusion,
2007-2016 relate to children,
reflecting the vision for children outlined in Towards 2016, which recognises
that children, especially
those in jobless households, are more vulnerable to
poverty than adults. These high-level goals emphasize education and income
support
as priority areas. In addition, the National Action Plan contains 45
targets for children, covering issues such as early childhood
development and
care, nutrition, homelessness, youth justice and children’s participation
in decision-making.
- Recent
poverty trends have prompted a review of the national poverty target that aims
to enable the Government to adopt appropriate
and achievable targets. A new
sub-target for the reduction of child poverty has been recommended on the basis
of the review, which
will likely take the form of a commitment to reduce the
differential rates of consistent poverty between children and adults. In
2010,
consistent poverty rates for children were 1.5 those for adults.
- UNICEF
regularly produces report cards on child poverty and well-being. The most recent
report, entitled The Children Left Behind (Adamson, 2010), ranks 24
Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries by their
performance in terms of
three dimensions of inequality in child well-being:
material well-being, educational well-being and health well-being. In terms of
the material well-being dimension, Ireland is ranked 13th, with an inequality
level close to the OECD average. The report found that
Ireland reduces child
poverty rates by approximately two-thirds through social transfers. The report
awards Ireland a score of 7
points (from a possible 8) for its overall
inequality record.[38] This places
Ireland in 2nd place, alongside Iceland, Norway and Sweden.
- Improving
the position of vulnerable groups, such as children, lone parents, people with
disabilities and jobless households, is critical
to the achievement of the
national social target for poverty reduction by 2020. This target is to reduce
consistent poverty to 4%
by 2016 (interim target) and to 2% or less by 2020,
from the 2010 baseline rate of 6.2%. This requires targeted interventions to
address multiple problems. In particular, a new approach is planned to break the
most deeply entrenched cycles of child poverty,
as outlined in the Programme for
Government 2011-2016.
- Ireland
is committed to a number of EU strategies that aim to reduce poverty. These
include the National Reform Programme under the
Europe 2020 Strategy and the
National Social Report under the EU Social Open Method of Coordination.
Ireland’s contribution
to the EU poverty target is to lift a minimum of
200,000 people out of the risk of poverty or social exclusion by 2020 from the
2010
baseline.
Nutrition
- A
Diet Supplement may be paid under the Supplementary Welfare Scheme in respect of
qualified children for whom a special diet is prescribed
due to a specified
medical condition.
- The
School Meals Programme operated by the Department of Social Protection provides
funding towards the provision of food services
for disadvantaged children
through two schemes:
- The statutory
Urban School Meals Scheme, operated by local authorities and part-financed by
the Department of Social Protection;
- The School Meals
Local Projects Scheme, through which funding is provided directly to
participating schools and local and voluntary
community groups who run their own
school meals projects.
- Priority
for funding under the School Meals Local Projects Scheme is given to schools
that are part of the Department of Education
and Skills initiative for
disadvantaged schools, entitled Delivering Equality of Opportunity in Schools
(DEIS) (see paras. 588-591).
However, there is no automatic entitlement to
funding and all applications must be considered in light of the available budget
for
the scheme. The number of children benefiting under this programme increased
from 125,138 in 2006 to over 189,000 in 2011. Expenditure
on the School Meals
Programme in 2006 was €13.6 million and increased to €34.975 million
in 2011. The allocation for
the programme for 2012 is €35
million.
Housing
- The
Government’s Housing Policy Statement, published in June 2011,
clearly identifies that the priority for Government will be to meet the most
acute needs of households applying
for social housing support. The Government is
committed to responding more quickly and on a larger scale to social housing
support
needs through a variety of mechanisms, including through increased
provision of social housing.
- Delivery
of social housing will be significantly facilitated through more flexible
funding models, such as the Rental Accommodation
Scheme and leasing, but the
Government is also committed to developing other funding mechanisms that will
increase the supply of
permanent new social housing. Such mechanisms will
include options to purchase, build to lease and the sourcing of loan finance by
approved housing bodies for construction and acquisition.
- In
2011, there were 43,578 households with children identified as being in need of
social housing. The next assessment of housing
needs is due to be carried out by
local authorities in April 2013. Information on particular housing needs,
household size and composition
(including numbers and ages of children) will be
gathered as part of the assessment. This information will be used by authorities
when drawing up their social housing programmes.
Traveller
accommodation
- In
accordance with the Housing (Traveller Accommodation) Act 1998, statutory
responsibility for the assessment of the accommodation
needs of Travellers and
the preparation, adoption and implementation of multi-annual Traveller
accommodation programmes, designed
to meet the accommodation needs of
Travellers, rests with individual housing authorities.
- Since
the enactment of the 1998 legislation, each local authority has concluded two
successive Traveller Accommodation Programmes
and is currently working towards
the conclusion of its third round of programmes. Significant progress has been
made in the delivery
of Traveller accommodation during this time.
- In
the course of the first Traveller Accommodation Programme (2000-2004):
- Some 1,371
additional Traveller families were provided with permanent, secure
accommodation;
- There was a
reduction of 50% in the number of families living on unauthorised sites, down
from 1,207 at the start to 601 at its completion.
- In
the course of the second Traveller Accommodation Programme (2005-2008):
- Significant
progress was made, with 775 units of new and refurbished Traveller-specific
accommodation provided;
- The number of
Traveller families accommodated in standard local authority housing increased by
458.
Spiritual, moral and social development
- The
spiritual, moral and social development of children is addressed primarily
through the education system. The Social, Personal
and Health Education (SPHE)
Programme has been a mandatory part of the curriculum in primary schools and in
the Junior Cycle since
2003, with the aim of fostering the personal development,
health and well-being of children, helping them create and maintain supportive
relationships and develop skills and attitudes required for responsible
citizenship. At second level, the Civics, Social and Political
Education (CSPE)
Programme prepares students for active participatory citizenship. CSPE seeks to
make pupils aware of the civic,
social and political dimensions of their lives,
and is based on seven key concepts: democracy; rights and responsibilities;
human
dignity; interdependence; development; law; and stewardship.
- At
post-primary level, the syllabuses acknowledge that Religious Education is well
placed to provide students with opportunities for
reflection, understanding and
interpretation of the human experience, and to provide for the moral development
of students. It introduces
critical engagement with a variety of ethical codes
and norms for behaviour.
Children in Direct Provision
- The
Reception and Integration Agency (RIA), a functional unit of the Irish
Naturalisation and Immigration Service, provides accommodation
and ancillary
services to asylum seekers under the Direct Provision system. This provides
asylum-seeker residents with full-board
accommodation free of utility or cost
while their application for international protection is being processed.
- Accommodation
in reception and accommodation centres is provided on a full-board basis, which
includes the provision of a room/family
room (as appropriate) and three meals
per day, as well as school lunches. All accommodation costs, together with the
costs of meals,
heat, light, laundry and maintenance, are paid directly by the
State. Residents are paid a weekly Direct Provision allowance. In
addition,
asylum seekers can access Exceptional Needs payments and clothing and footwear
allowances.
- The
RIA takes its child protection role seriously. This role is critical
notwithstanding the fact that children living in the Direct
Provision system are
not in the care of the State. All children live in a family context and their
parents/guardians have primary
responsibility for their care and welfare. In
this context, it should be noted that the RIA does not accommodate unaccompanied
minors;
they are in the care of the Health Service Executive (HSE). In the
Direct Provision system, children are protected in a number of
ways –
primarily through RIA’s child protection policy, its house rules, its
requirement that all centre staff be Garda-vetted
and through the coordination
role of a dedicated unit in the RIA.
- The
RIA’S child protection policy is based on Children First: National
Guidance for the Protection and Welfare of Children (DCYA, 2011). This
policy requires, inter alia, that children must be supervised by their
parents/guardians at all times and that
children are not permitted to be left
alone overnight. It also provides that each centre has a designated Child
Protection Liaison
Officer who is responsible for following a referral procedure
should he or she suspect that a child welfare incident has occurred.
Managers of
accommodation centres are obliged to ensure that all staff working there are
aware of, and adhere to, the RIA’s
child protection policy. The HSE has
provided “Keeping Safe” child protection training to each
centre’s designated
officers and other staff members.
- The
RIA’s house rules set out information for residents and staff in respect
of child protection and the responsibilities of
all parties. A copy of these
rules, as well as its Child Protection Policy, is available on the RIA website
(www.ria.gov.ie). Staff of centres under contract to the RIA are
Garda-vetted. This is in furtherance of the RIA’s policy, which has as its
principal aim the minimisation of risk to children and vulnerable adults
residing in its centres. There is a specific unit in the
RIA, the Child and
Family Services Unit, whose role it is to manage, deliver, coordinate, monitor
and plan all matters relating to
child and family services for all asylum
seekers residing in the Direct Provision system. The unit also acts as a conduit
between
the RIA and the HSE, the latter having statutory functions in this
area.
- Children
resident in the RIA’s accommodation centres are provided with primary and
secondary education in the local community
on the same basis as the children of
Irish citizens. Parents may also apply for payments to allow their children to
avail themselves
of school activities, sports and other activities. An exemption
from fees for State examinations is also available to asylum seekers
who are
holders of medical cards. Homework clubs and quiet spaces are provided in family
centres to facilitate children doing their
homework. On-site preschool services
are available in some of the larger Direct Provision centres. However, in all
cases, parents
may opt to send their children to privately run preschools in the
community. The Early Child Care and Education (ECCE) Scheme provides
for free
preschool placements to all children, including children of asylum seekers in
Direct Provision accommodation.
- The
management of the RIA’s accommodation centres works with local schools,
community groups, sports clubs and non-governmental
organisations to link
children and families into community initiatives, sports and other activities to
ensure access to the best
available package of
services.
VII. Education, leisure and cultural
activities
A. Right to education
- Ireland’s
second report (2005) provided a comprehensive account of the right to access
education.[39] During the academic
year 2010/11, there were 509,652 children attending primary school, 356,107
attending second-level schools and
161,647 third-level students in Ireland.
Retention rates to the completion of Senior Cycle at second level (Leaving
Certificate)
have increased by almost 8 percentage points – from 82.3% of
children in the 1997 school entry cohort to 90.2% of children
in the 2006 school
entry cohort.
B. Aims of education
- Ireland’s
second report set out the aims of
education.[40] In addition, that
report provided details in relation to a range of educational provision,
services and programmes. The following
paragraphs set out key developments
in education since 2006. In addition, a number of key developments have been
included in other
sections of this report.
Literacy and
Numeracy for Learning and Life
- The
National Strategy to Improve Literacy and Numeracy among Children and Young
People, 2011-2020, published by the Minister for Education and Skills in
June 2011, addresses six key areas aimed at improving literacy and numeracy
outcomes:
- Enabling parents
and communities to support children’s literacy and numeracy
development;
- Improving the
professional practice of teachers and early childhood education and care
practitioners through changes to both pre-service
and in-service education;
- Building the
capacity of school leadership to lead improvements in the teaching and
assessment of literacy and numeracy in schools;
- Getting the
content of the curriculum for literacy and numeracy right at primary and
post-primary levels by ensuring that the curriculum
is clear about what students
are expected to learn at each stage;
- Targeting
available additional resources on learners with additional needs, including
students from disadvantaged communities, students
learning English as an
additional language and students with special educational needs;
- Improving how
teachers, schools and the educational system use good assessment approaches to
plan the next steps for each learner
and monitor progress.
- Each
of the actions in the National Strategy to Improve Literacy and Numeracy
among Children and Young People has a timeline, and clear lead
responsibility for delivery is assigned.
School building
programme
- The
Programme for Government commits to prioritising investment in school building
projects. In March 2012, a €2 billion five-year
capital investment
programme was launched by the Minister for Education and Skills, involving some
275 major school building projects
that are planned to proceed to construction
over the duration of the programme. The plan will provide over 100,000 permanent
school
places, of which 80,000 will be new school places. The remainder will be
the replacement of temporary or unsatisfactory accommodation.
This substantial
investment means that over 11% of the total school population will benefit from
new permanent places delivered during
20122016.
School
enrolment
- A
Discussion Paper on a Regulatory Framework for School Enrolment was
published by the Department of Education and Skills (DES) in June 2011. It sets
out possible options for consideration on how
to make the process of enrolling
in schools more open, equitable and consistent. It also sets out possible new
sanctions in a case
where a school or Board of Management is not compliant with
any new legislation. Submissions were sought on the discussion paper
by the end
of October 2011. The 89 submissions received are currently being collated by the
DES and feedback from this consultation
will inform the nature and scope of the
new regulatory framework.
Standards for Early Childhood Care
and Education Services
- At
preschool level, the Child Care (Preschool Services) (No. 2) Regulations
2006 came into effect in September 2007. The core obligations
of the adult
practitioner in a childcare setting are set out in Part II, Section 5 of
the Regulations and provide that each child’s
learning, development and
well-being should be facilitated within the daily life of the service through
the provision of the appropriate
opportunities, experiences, activities,
interaction, materials and equipment, having regard to the age and stage of
development of
the child and the child’s cultural context.
- Síolta,
the National Quality Framework for Early Childhood Education, was developed by
the Centre for Early Childhood Development
and Education under the DES and
launched in 2006. The Framework includes 12 principles, 16 standards and
75 components of quality,
with the latter each having a number of
“signposts for reflections”. The Framework is intended for use by
all service
providers engaged with children aged from birth to 6 years,
including preschool services and infant classes in primary schools.
- In
October 2009, the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA)
published Aistear: The Early Childhood Curriculum Framework. Aistear is
for all children from birth to 6 years, and can be used in a range of early
childhood settings, including children’s
own homes, child-minding
settings, day care settings, sessional services and infant classes in primary
schools. Aistear is based
on extensive research, consultation, planning and
development by the NCCA in partnership with the early childhood sector. It
highlights
the fact that children learn many different things at the same time
and it uses four interconnected themes to describe the content
of
children’s learning and development: well-being; identity and belonging;
communicating; and exploring and thinking. Aistear
has both implicit and
explicit links with the primary school curriculum and can play an important role
in the NCCA’s ongoing
review of this curriculum and in supporting
continuity and progression in children’s learning.
- The
Inspectorate of the DES and the HSE Early Years/Preschool Inspection Services
developed a collaborative approach to the joint
inspection of the provision for
children in the State-funded Free Preschool Year in Early Childhood Care and
Education (ECCE). A
joint inspection of 15 Early Years settings was piloted in
2011-12. The joint DES/HSE inspection of ECCE settings aimed to achieve
an
efficient approach to quality-assuring all aspects of provision in the universal
free preschool year. The joint inspection process
also aimed to ensure that the
expertise currently embedded in both inspectorates would be shared and enhanced,
and that high-quality
ECCE provision for children aged 3-6 would be promoted.
The outcome of the joint pilot inspections is being considered by the DES
and
the DCYA, and will inform the development of an appropriate implementation model
for evaluating the quality of early childhood
care and education provision in
the future.
- The
Child Care (Preschool Services) (No. 2) Regulations 2006 (see
para. 573) require that preschool services ensure appropriate vetting
of
all staff, students and volunteers who have access to a child and that such
vetting be carried out prior to any person being appointed
or assigned or
allowed access to a child in the preschool service.
Standards
for primary and second-level education services
- The
Inspectorate of the DES carries out annual programmes of inspection and
evaluation of schools in Ireland, which involve whole-school
evaluations of
primary and post-primary schools; subject inspections and evaluations of
programmes at post-primary level; inspection
of the work of individual teachers,
including probationary teachers; and focused evaluations of particular aspects
of the system.
- Responsibility
for providing an appropriate education for each student lies with the Board of
Management of a school. From 2012/13
onwards, all schools will be expected to
engage in self-evaluation and develop school improvement plans. The Inspectorate
has developed
and published draft guidelines to assist schools in this task. The
guidelines provide a framework and evaluation criteria to assist
schools in the
process of self-evaluation. They also contain quality statements to help schools
to place their practice along a continuum,
from significant strengths to
significant weaknesses.
- The
DES has a role in providing guidance to schools and other education
organisations in implementing child protection policy, based
on the Children
First: National Guidance for the Protection and Welfare of Children, revised
by the DCYA in October 2011 and issued to schools.
- All
persons being appointed to teaching and non-teaching positions in schools must
be vetted prior to commencing employment, unless
they have already been vetted
during the same or the previous calendar year. The requirement for vetting
applies in respect of all
types of appointment of any duration, including
full-time, part-time and substitute positions. Staff returning to work for the
same
employer after a leave of absence of two or more years must also be vetted.
Religious education
- A
new multi-denominational model of State patronage at primary level was
introduced in 2008 in response to increasing societal diversity
and demand for
greater choice in educational provision at primary school level. Community
National Schools aim to cater for diversity
within a single school setting by
catering for children of all faiths and none. It is intended that the schools
will operate under
the patronage of local Vocational Education Committees
(VECs), with six already established. A multi-belief religious education
programme,
entitled Goodness Me! Goodness You!, is under development in schools
on an action research basis.
- The
Commission on School Accommodation has carried out a review of criteria and
procedures for the establishment of new primary schools.
Its report, published
in February 2011, recommends a range of criteria and requirements to be met by
prospective patrons in making
applications for the patronage of new schools and
joint campus arrangements, whereby schools of different patronage could share
facilities.
In June 2011, the Minister for Education and Skills announced that
20 new primary schools and 20 new post-primary schools are to
be established
over the next six years to meet the needs of the growing population of
school-going children. He also announced new
arrangements for applications from
prospective patrons for the establishment of the schools, as well as new
criteria for deciding
on the form of patronage that places a particular emphasis
on parental demand for plurality and diversity of patronage.
- In
June 2011, the Minister for Education and Skills announced new arrangements to
apply to applications for patronage of new schools.
The new framework contains
the following key elements:
- If the
demographics require the establishment of a school, then the process for the
selection of the type of school should allow for
different patrons/bodies to be
considered as the patron of a new school;
- The patron
bodies would be invited to make applications for consideration. These
applications would be considered by the New Schools
Establishment Group and it
would then submit a report with recommendations for consideration by the
Minister.
- In
March 2012, the Minister for Education and Skills announced the patronage of new
primary schools being established in 2012 and
2013. The selected patrons
included Educate Together, An Foras Pátrúnachta (the patron body
of many Irish-speaking
schools) and the VEC. A decision was taken in July 2012
for 14 post-primary schools to open in 2013 and 2014. The successful patrons
included those of a Catholic ethos, Church of Ireland ethos,
multi-denominational and Gaelcholáistí (second-level
Irish-speaking
schools).
Investment in ICT
- Between
2006 and 2010, some €95 million in devolved ICT grants was distributed to
schools under the ICT in Schools Programme,
with €92 million of this
provided between November 2009 and December 2010 under the most recent ICT
Infrastructure Grant Scheme.
Outside of the ICT in Schools Programme, targeted
ICT infrastructure investments have also been made by the Department of
Education
and Skills (DES) in the context of the school building programme (see
para. 571) and the deployment of new technology subjects at
second level.
Between 2006 and 2011, €26 million was provided for equipment, and a
further €16 million for ICT equipment,
to deliver two revised Senior Cycle
subjects: Design and Communications and Technology.
- The
DES has also funded the Schools Broadband Programme since 2005. Under this
programme, schools’ connectivity to the Internet
is routed through a
National Broadband Network, which controls the broadband access to schools and
provides centrally managed services
for schools, such as security,
anti-spam/anti-virus and content filtering. Schools have access to online
resources, including a major
commercial encyclopaedia, through the Schools
Broadband Network. High speed (100Mbps) broadband is being rolled out to all
second-level
schools over three stages, with 200 schools being connected by
September 2012, a further 200 to be connected in 2013 and the remaining
250
schools to be connected in 2014.
Addressing educational
disadvantage
- Delivering
Equality of Opportunity in Schools (DEIS) was published in 2005, and
supports under this programme have been introduced since 2006. DEIS is aimed at
addressing the educational
needs of children and young people from disadvantaged
communities. Its core elements comprise a standardised system for identifying
levels of disadvantage and an integrated School Support Programme (SSP) that
brings together, and builds upon, existing interventions
for schools and school
clusters and communities with concentrated levels of educational disadvantage.
At present, 341 urban and 324
rural primary schools and 195 second-level schools
are participating in the SSP, with a total enrolment of 100,595 at primary level
and 64,755 at second level.
- The
DEIS Programme provides a range of additional supports to these schools,
including additional teachers through a lower pupil-to-teacher
ratio for DEIS
primary schools with the highest concentrations of disadvantage, higher
capitation grants, Home School Community Coordinators,
reading and maths
recovery programmes, the School Completion Programme, the School Meals Programme
and supports to help children
transfer from primary to second-level schools.
From the 2012/13 school year, all DEIS post-primary schools will be targeted for
additional
support through an improved staffing schedule of 18.25:1. Almost
€720 million was provided in 2012 for a wide variety of measures
to tackle
educational disadvantage from preschool to third level. This includes funding
for the School Completion Programme of €28
million, which is under the
responsibility of the DCYA.
- An
ongoing evaluation of DEIS has been underway since the introduction of supports
commenced in 2006. In addition, the Inspectorate
of the DES conducted
evaluations of planning in a sample of 36 DEIS schools (18 primary and 18
post-primary). The reports highlight
a number of findings, including: the DEIS
Programme is having a positive effect on tackling educational disadvantage and
improvement
is taking place in the learning achievements of pupils in DEIS
primary schools in urban areas; achievements are gained in the literacy
and
numeracy levels of pupils in DEIS primary schools, with statistically
significant improvements in both the mathematics and reading
levels of pupils in
2nd, 3rd and 6th classes between 2007 and 2010; practically all primary schools
reported significant measurable
improvements in the attendance levels of their
pupils, while the majority of post-primary schools had effective measures in
place
to improve attendance; and most schools had a variety of measures in place
to encourage parental involvement in the school and in
their child’s
learning.
- The
DES will consider these evaluation reports fully before any decisions are made
regarding the future of DEIS. While continuing
to target resources at schools
with the most concentrated levels of educational disadvantage is a key priority,
the current economic
climate and the challenge in meeting significant targets on
reducing public expenditure limits opportunities. There is currently
no capacity
to provide for the inclusion of additional schools in the DEIS
Programme.
Children with special education needs
- A
number of sections of the Education for Persons with Special Educational Needs
(EPSEN) Act 2004 have already been commenced, principally
those establishing the
National Council for Special Education (NCSE) and those promoting an inclusive
approach to the education of
children with special educational needs. The
Sections of the EPSEN Act that have been deferred are those mainly concerned
with the
assessment of need process, the preparation and review of individual
education plans, and the associated appeals provisions in relation
to these
areas.
- The
previous Government deferred the full implementation of EPSEN in light of the
difficult economic situation and the significant
associated costs (estimated to
be at least €235 million per annum). The current Programme for Government
2011-2016 has committed
to the publication of a plan for the implementation of
the Act to prioritise access for children with special needs to an individual
education plan. The priority will be moving to a system in which necessary
supports follow a child from primary to second level,
and achieving greater
integration of special needs-related services.
- To
help achieve this and other educational aims, from September 2012 all children
who are transitioning from primary to post-primary
schools will have their
end-of-year report card sent to their new school. This approach will ensure
continuity and progression for
students, alert secondary schools if any child
will need additional support to improve their literacy and numeracy skills, and
improve
the arrangements for the transfer of data from preschool to primary, and
from primary to post-primary levels.
- A
number of resources are provided to schools to support the education of children
with special needs. These include resource teachers
and Special Needs Assistants
(SNAs). In 2006, there were 8,390 SNAs supporting children in mainstream
schools. The number of SNAs
in 2012 was 10,324, which included some 2,000 SNAs
supporting 6,905 pupils in special schools.
School attendance
and educational welfare
- The
National Educational Welfare Board (NEWB) was established under the Education
Welfare Act 2000, with a mandate to ensure effectively
that “each child
attends a recognised school or otherwise receives a certain minimum
education”. Emphasis is placed on
helping children, families and schools
to ensure their respective interrelationships are supported, rather than
imposing penalties
for non-attendance at school. The NEWB works at local level
throughout the country to provide support and advice to parents and schools,
and
to follow up on absences from school. It also has a role in advising Government
on the formulation and implementation of policies
concerning school attendance
and educational welfare.
- In
May 2009, the Department of Education and Skills extended the remit of the NEWB.
The new remit brought together the Educational
Welfare Service, School
Completion Programme, Home School Community Liaison Scheme and Visiting Teachers
Service for Travellers to
develop a single, more focused strategic direction at
local, regional and national levels, reflecting equally the nature and strength
of each of the services.
- The
Educational Welfare Service is a statutory service supporting regular school
attendance for all school-age children and young
people through its Education
Welfare Officers (EWOs). EWOs engage directly with schools, other school support
services and professionals
from other sectors working with children and families
to meet its objectives. The School Completion Programme is a programme targeting
children in schools designated as serving disadvantaged areas under the DEIS
Action Plan for Educational Inclusion. It aims to retain
young people in the
formal education system to completion of Senior Cycle or equivalent, to
generally improve the quality of participation
and educational attainment of its
target cohort. Each project is managed by a Local Management Committee and
provides a tailored
programme of in-school, after-school and holiday-time
interventions to children and young people across the country who are at risk
of
early school leaving. The Home School Community Liaison Scheme is a school-based
preventative strategy, again targeting children
at risk of early school leaving
in schools designated as serving disadvantaged areas under the DEIS Action Plan
for Educational Inclusion.
The scheme focuses directly on the salient adults in
children’s lives and seeks indirect benefits for the children themselves:
the coordinators of the scheme, who are teachers, organise locally based
activities to encourage greater contact between parents,
teachers and local
voluntary and statutory groups to tackle local issues that impinge on learning.
The School Completion Programme
and the Home School Community Liaison Service
are elements of the DEIS[41] School
Support Programme (SSP).
- The
vision of the NEWB arising from the integration of services described above is
to provide excellent services through a One Child,
One Team, One Plan approach.
This will enable NEWB supports to children and families to be delivered in a
seamless way so that they
can be helped to take full advantage of the education
system.
- In
June 2011, the functions of the NEWB transferred to the DCYA. This transfer of
NEWB functions in conjunction with a number of other
child-focused services has
facilitated the emergence of greater collaboration and innovation around
child-focused services through
the prioritisation of policy and service delivery
across Government in order to improve the lives of children and young people.
The
NEWB will become part of the new Child and Family Agency on its
establishment in 2013.
- Since
1999, the National Educational Psychology Service
(NEPS)[42] has provided
psychological services in public and private primary and post-primary schools
and in related educational centres. NEPS
is a service of the Department of
Education and Skills, and aims to support the personal, social and educational
development of all
children through the application of psychological theory and
practice in education. It has particular regard for children with special
educational needs. Adopting a consultative model of service, NEPS focuses on
empowering teachers to intervene effectively with pupils
whose special needs
range from mild to severe and from transient to enduring. Psychologists use a
problem-solving and solution-focused
consultative approach to maximise positive
outcomes for these pupils and encourage schools to use a continuum-based
assessment and
intervention process, whereby each school takes responsibility
for initial assessment, educational planning and remedial intervention
for
pupils with learning, emotional or behavioural difficulties. Depending on the
outcome of this consultation process, a NEPS psychologist
can become involved
with an individual child for intensive intervention. This system allows
psychologists to give early attention
to urgent cases and indirectly helps many
more children than could be seen individually. While much of the NEPS
psychologists’
time is devoted to the identification and amelioration of
learning needs, an increasing focus is being placed on behavioural and
emotional
problems exhibited by students. In 2011, the number of NEPS psychologists was
capped at 178.
Education for migrants
- The
Intercultural Education Strategy, 2010-2015 provides the policy framework for
the education of migrant groups (see para. 134).
In 2011/12, just under 12%
of pupils in primary schools were non-Irish nationals. At second level, just
under 11% were non-Irish
nationals, representing 170
nationalities.[43]
- At
both primary and second level, additional language support is provided for
students who do not speak English as their first language.
Such language support
is designed to allow individual students to participate in mainstream education
on a par with their peers.
The provision of language supports serves as a
targeted response to potential early school leaving among migrant students, and
some
1,134 whole-time equivalent teachers were involved in the provision of this
service in the 2011/12 school year.
- The
system of allocation of language support was reformed in 2012. The reforms to
the allocation system for the coming school year
involve combining resources
available for high-incidence special needs education and language support into a
single simplified allocation
process. Schools will have autonomy on how to
deploy resources between language support and learning support, depending on
their
specific needs. The new arrangements also provide for additional permanent
teaching posts to be given to schools with high concentrations
of pupils who
require language support. Additional temporary language support will also be
provided, as necessary, to schools that
will have high concentrations of pupils
who require language support in the 2012/13 school year. These allocations will
be made on
the basis of appeals by any of these schools to the Staffing Appeals
Boards.
- Table
10 sets out the numbers of whole-time equivalent language support teachers at
primary and post-primary levels over the period
2006-2011.
Table 10
Number of whole-time
equivalent language support teachers at primary
and post-primary
levels, 2006-2011
|
WTE EAL* posts
|
Primary**
|
Post-primary
|
2006
|
1,069
|
388
|
2007
|
1,520
|
479
|
2008
|
1,636
|
560
|
2009
|
1,125
|
368
|
2010
|
1,071
|
282
|
2011
|
924
|
210
|
* WTE = whole-time equivalent; EAL = English as an additional language.
** Figures in relation to primary level relate to full-time teaching posts
only and exclude part-time hours.
- Budget
decisions since 2009 have significantly reduced the number of language support
posts provided to schools. Arising from these
decisions, new arrangements
(rule-based allocations and appeal process) were put in place in recent years
for the allocation of language
support to schools. In the current 2012/13 school
year, the combined resources available for the General Allocation Model (GAM) at
primary level and learning support at post-primary level and language support
were used to create a single simplified allocation
process to cover both the GAM
and language support at primary level and learning and language support at
post-primary level. Schools
have autonomy on how to deploy the resource between
language support and learning support, depending on their specific needs. A
permanent
allocation of posts was also allocated to schools with significant
concentrations of pupils who require language support. Further
additional
temporary support is also provided, as necessary, to schools that have
significant concentrations of pupils who require
language support. These
allocations are made on the basis of appeals by any of these schools to the
Staffing Appeals Board. In addition
to the standard allocation (GAM/EAL at
primary level and the learning and language support allocation at post-primary),
a further
979 posts were allocated in the current 2012/13 school year to schools
with high concentrations of pupils who require language support
(878 posts at
primary level and 101 posts at post-primary level).
Traveller
education
- The
Report and Recommendations for a Traveller Education Strategy provides
the policy framework for the education of Travellers (see para. 272).
- The
Report and Recommendations for a Traveller Education Strategy recommends
the phasing out of segregated Traveller preschools and this was completed at the
end of the 2011/12 school year, when
funding from the Department of Education
and Skills (DES) for the last remaining segregated preschools ceased. Traveller
children
can avail of the universal free preschool year. Figures are not
currently available on the take-up of this scheme among Traveller
children.
- In
2010, the DES announced funding for a Preschool Initiative for Children from
Minority Groups, to support preschool services to
undertake accredited equality
and diversity training. The aim of the funding is to ensure that inclusion and
integration occur for
children from all majority or minority communities.
- In
September 2011, over 10,500 young Travellers were enrolled in school –
8,086 at primary level (on the Primary School Census
Return Form) and 2,699 at
second level (on the Post-primary Pupil Database). At second level, this figure
is more than double the
enrolment in 2000 of 1,165 Travellers. The number of
Traveller pupils sitting Junior Certificate examinations has increased by over
50%, from 292 in 2005 to 442 in 2009. Similarly, the number sitting Leaving
Certificate and Leaving Certificate Applied has more
than doubled, from 43 in
2005 to 103 in 2009.
- While
the data point to a fall off before completion of the Leaving Certificate, many
Travellers remain engaged with education in
alternative settings. Youthreach is
an integrated programme of education, training and work experience for young
people in the 15-20
age group who have left school early without any
qualifications or vocational training. The 2011 annual survey of VEC Youthreach
participants showed that 17% of learners identified themselves as Travellers.
All Further Education programmes are open to Travellers
and include both
full-time programmes (Post Leaving Certificate Programme, Vocational Training
Opportunities Scheme and Youthreach)
and part-time programmes (Back to Education
Initiative and Adult Literacy and Community Education).
- As
part of Budget 2011, the decision was made to withdraw specific Resource Teacher
for Travellers posts, effective from September
2011. This reflects the
recommendation in the Report and Recommendations for a Traveller Education
Strategy that an integrated, collaborative and in-class learning support
system should be adopted for all children, including Travellers,
who have
identified educational needs. Traveller pupils, who are eligible for learning
support teaching, will now receive this tuition
through the existing learning
support provision in schools. All schools are advised to select students for
learning support on the
basis of priority of need. Alleviation measures are
being provided to assist schools with high concentrations of Traveller
pupils.
Unaccompanied minors and children of asylum
seekers
- Unaccompanied
minors and children of asylum seekers can access preschool, first and
second-level education in a manner similar to
Irish nationals, until they have
reached the age of 18 years. If they have started their Senior Cycle
post-primary education and
reach 18 years during the two-year programme, they
are allowed to finish the course and present for the Leaving Certificate
examination.
However, neither category can access State supports in order to
access courses in further, higher or adult education.
- At
third level, the student’s own nationality or immigration status in the
State determines whether he or she meets the nationality
requirement of the Free
Fees Scheme. Eligible undergraduate students who meet, inter alia, the
nationality criteria of the scheme
will not have to pay approved tuition fees,
but will have to pay the Student Contribution. Students who do not qualify under
the
Free Fees Scheme are required to pay tuition fees and may be eligible to
claim tax relief. Under the terms of the Student Grant Scheme,
grant assistance
is awarded to students who meet the prescribed conditions of funding, including
those that relate to nationality,
residency, previous academic attainment and
means. The nationality requirements for the Student Grant Scheme are set out in
Section
14 of the Student Support Act 2011 and Regulation 5 of the Student
Support Regulations 2012. In all cases, to qualify for a student
grant, it is
the grant applicant, and not his or her parents, who must meet the nationality
or prescribed immigration status requirements
in his or her own right.
- The
City of Dublin VEC provides an Access Education Programme for newly arrived
unaccompanied minors. This programme is unique to
Ireland, offering an intensive
transition programme for unaccompanied minors from their arrival in Dublin until
placement in foster
care and entry into second-level school, usually outside
Dublin. As of 2010, students remain on the Access Education Programme for
approximately 12-16 weeks. It operates on a year-round basis for 42 weeks of the
year. The course covers English Language, Mathematics
and Life Skills, and there
are strong curricular links with the post-primary curriculum. The programme
caters for a diverse group
of learners, including those with limited or no
experience of formal education in their countries of origin.
- Although
the Access Education Programme is mainly aimed at unaccompanied minors,
referrals have been from other young people of refugee
backgrounds. Having
secured additional funding under the European Refugee Fund in 2010, the Dublin
City VEC has been developing a
range of teaching and learning resources and
supports targeted at this specific cohort of learners, which will also benefit a
wider
group of learners.
- A
DVD resource made for and by young separated children seeking asylum, entitled
Stepping Stones: Starting Second-level School in Ireland, is available in
both hard copy and as a download from the website www.separatedchildrenservice.ie.
A teacher’s resource also accompanies the DVD.
- Study
Buddy is an after-school homework club aimed at any unaccompanied minor or
aged-out minors (AOMs) in second-level schools or
colleges of further education
in the Dublin area. Young people are matched with a volunteer to help them
complete school work and
develop better study skills. Many Study Buddy
volunteers have been with this programme since its inception in
2007.
C. Cultural rights of children
belonging to indigenous and minority groups
- The
Intercultural Education Strategy, 2010-2015 explicitly acknowledges the key role
of migrant children’s mother tongue and
culture (see para. 271). One
of the concrete measures adopted is the provision of what are called
“non-curricular languages”.
These are EU languages that do not
appear as part of the normal school curriculum but in which students may opt to
be examined under
certain conditions. These are additional to modern languages,
as well as English and Irish, which are available to all students.
The total
number of languages now offered is 15, an increase from the 9 offered in 2005.
There was a significant increase in the
candidature for non-curricular languages
in 2011, with a total of 1,262, compared to 1,050 in 2010 and 817 in 2009.
- All
primary and post-primary pupils are required to study Irish, unless they are
specifically exempted from doing so by the Department
of Education and Skills.
The Education Act 1998 sets out responsibilities in relation to Irish for
schools. In response to local
demand, schools may be established in which pupils
are educated through the medium of Irish. In recent decades, the number of such
schools outside Gaeltacht areas has increased (see para. 622).
- In
2010, the 20-Year Strategy for the Irish Language, 2010-2030 was
published. This strategy is based on the Government Statement on the Irish
Language (2006), one of the objectives of which was
the provision of a high
standard of Irish education to all school students whose parents or guardians
wanted this. The strategy notes
that the education system is one of the critical
engines for generating the linguistic ability on which this strategy is
premised.
The Programme for Government 2011-2016 supports the strategy and will
deliver on the achievable goals and targets proposed. In particular,
the areas
of teacher education, curricular reform at both primary and post-primary level,
and the provision of teaching resources
in Irish have been prioritised in these
early stages as the strategy is being implemented.
- The
number of schools in the Gaeltacht areas has reduced from 153 to just over 100,
but the number of schools teaching through the
medium of Irish outside the
Gaeltacht areas has increased from 20 in 1975/76 to 141 in
2011/12.
D. Education in human
rights and civic education
- At
primary level, the Social, Personal and Health Education (SPHE) curriculum is
built around three strands – Myself, Myself
and Others, and Myself and the
Wider World – and deals with issues such as making decisions, developing
self-confidence, growing
and changing, personal safety, relating to friends,
family and others, handling conflict, respecting difference, and awareness of
bullying. Myself and the Wider World is designed to promote a sense of social
responsibility, active citizenship, appreciation for
diversity, and
interdependence of local, national and global communities.
- Civics,
Social and Political Education (CSPE) is an examination subject and part of the
core curriculum in Junior Cycle in second-level
schools. Throughout the course,
emphasis is placed on active, participatory class work that encourages learning
by doing, with a
focus on research, group work, simulation and action
activities. A central objective is to instil in pupils an understanding of seven
key concepts: democracy, rights and responsibilities, human dignity,
interdependence, development, law and stewardship. The format
allows teachers to
deal with such issues as gender equity, racism, interculturalism, environmental
protection, development education,
poverty, unemployment and homelessness. The
recently published Framework for Junior Cycle (October 2012) continues to
emphasize the importance of human rights and civic education. One of its
Statements of Learning includes
the need for a student to “value what it
means to be an active citizen, with rights and responsibilities in local and
wider
contexts”.
- Human
Rights Education in Primary Schools – the Lift Off Programme – is an
Island of Ireland human rights education initiative,
jointly delivered by
Amnesty International–Ireland and Amnesty International–Northern
Ireland, together with the Ulster
Teachers Union and the Irish National Teachers
Organisation, with the support of the Human Rights Commission and the Northern
Ireland
Human Rights Commission. The Lift Off initiative works to promote human
rights education in primary schools through the development
of curriculum
support materials, the promotion of a whole-school approach to human rights
education, and the facilitation of links
between participating schools in
Ireland, both north and south. All Lift Off teaching materials and lesson plans
are prepared by
teachers, recommended by the NCCA and the Primary Curriculum
Support Programme (PCSP), fully meet the expectations of the primary
curriculum
and are suitable for use across the entire curriculum. Lift Off human rights
education materials have been disseminated
to each primary school and teacher
training has been offered widely. In total, 70 schools undertook to pilot the
Lift Off materials
in the Republic of Ireland. There are currently 622 schools
registered on the Lift Off website (www.liftoffschools.com).
E. Rest,
play, leisure, recreation, and cultural and artistic activities
Education provision for the arts and physical activity
- Arts
education (visual arts, music and drama) is one of the seven subject areas that
comprise the primary curriculum, which was launched
in 1999 and implemented on a
phased basis during the period to 2007. The Professional Development Service for
Teachers provides professional
development support to teachers to assist them in
implementing the curriculum. Visual Arts was implemented in schools in 2001/02,
Music was implemented in 2005/06 and Drama was implemented in 2006/07. Dance
forms a strand in the Physical Education curriculum.
- At
second level, there are approved syllabuses for Junior Certificate in Music and
Art, Craft and Design. The new Junior Cycle Framework
(October 2012) allows for
the development of short courses, and the NCCA is currently developing such a
course in Artistic Performance.
Schools will also be able to develop their own
short courses, within set specifications. One of the Statements of Learning of
the
new Framework includes the need for students to “create and present
artistic works and appreciate the process and skills involved”.
In the
Senior Cycle, there are syllabuses in Music, and modules in the Arts are also
available as part of the Leaving Certificate
Applied. In Transition Year,
schools offer a variety of modules to stimulate pupils’ interest in the
arts in general, which
in many cases give them the opportunity to interact with
practising artists. It is common practice, for example, to offer a school
musical as part of Transition Year. The Transition Year programme is taken by
50% of the school cohort in approximately 550 schools.
- Physical
education is provided for in both the primary and second-level curriculum.
Additional measures in this area are outlined
in paragraphs 500-503.
Physical activity and play
- Ready,
Steady, Play: A National Play Policy was published in March 2004, the first
such detailed national play policy to be published in Ireland. Since 2004, the
Government
has allocated €28.3 million for the provision or improvement of
playgrounds around the country as part of the implementation
of Ready, Steady,
Play and of the RAPID Programme for areas of disadvantage. This funding has led
to the number of playgrounds in
the country more than doubling – from less
than 200 to over 561 – with more than 100 further playgrounds
planned.
- In
addition, the Government sponsors an annual National Play Day in cooperation
with a nationwide network of local Government agencies
and community groups.
Approximately 85% of local authorities staged Play Day events in 2012, the
highest-ever level of participation.
This follows the establishment by the
Government of a National Play and Recreation Network in February 2012. The aim
of these developments
is to increase the awareness of play and recreation
generally among policymakers, parents, families and education specialists. The
process will be embedded into wider child care policies, with the involvement of
the City and County Childcare Committees, planning
experts, and non-governmental
agencies such as Sugradh Ireland, with the aim of developing a holistic approach
to childhood in which
the importance of play and child-friendly cities and towns
is widely appreciated and recognised. Most local government authorities
already
have dedicated play policies, which are published and implemented, with large
urban centres such as Dublin City moving towards
a fully integrated Play Plan
approach.
- In
September 2007, Teenspace: National Recreation Policy for Young People was
launched by the then Office of the Minister for Children
(OMC, 2007b). The
policy addresses the needs of young people between the ages of 12 and 18,
providing a strategic framework for the
promotion of positive recreational
opportunities aimed principally at this group. There are seven core objectives,
each incorporating
a series of actions (76 in total), for priority
implementation by various government departments and agencies, which have a
crucial
role in the delivery of these actions within the overall framework of
the National Recreation Policy.
- The
National Recreation Policy adopts an evidence-based approach, addressing issues
that emerged from a public consultation process,
undertaken by the OMC, which
gave all interested parties, including young people, an opportunity to have a
say in the development
of the policy. The process of developing the policy was
also informed through the findings of independent research commissioned by
the
National Children’s Office in 2005 to measure the recreational and leisure
activities of young Irish people; in particular,
the research examined what
young people did in their free time, the barriers and supports experienced in
accessing recreational opportunities,
and their aspirations in regard to leisure
and recreation (De Róiste and Dinneen, 2005).
Irish
Sports Council
- The
Irish Sports Council (ISC) is a Government-appointed body responsible for the
promotion, development and coordination of sport
in Ireland. The ISC has
developed the Buntus Programme, which supports a Physical Education curriculum
in primary schools designed
to give children a quality introduction to basic
sporting skills. This programme is being supported by the Department of
Education
and Skills, and is currently operating in the Local Sports Partnership
(LSP) areas. The ISC has also developed a Buntus Start Programme
for preschool
and childcare providers to introduce physical activity and fundamental skills to
children aged 3-5 years. Each programme
provides equipment, resource cards and
teacher/leader training to each school or centre.
- From
2006 to 2011, €30.5 million was allocated to the LSPs, with an additional
€3.4 million from the Dormant Accounts
funds. The ISC also funds the
Sports Inclusion Disability Programme, which promotes and delivers sporting
opportunities to people
with disabilities, including young people and children.
This programme is delivered through the LSP national network. The ISC supports
the three major field sports of soccer, Gaelic football and rugby, to promote
under-age participation. From 2006 to 2011, funding
of €61.9 million was
allocated to these sports for a wide range of initiatives across the
country.
- The
Code of Ethics and Good Practice for Children’s Sport in Ireland was
launched in 2000 by the ISC and revised in 2006. Since
then, all national
governing bodies have signed up to the principles and policies of the
ISC’s Code and adopted a sports-specific
code, which has been circulated
to all sport clubs. Those with junior members have appointed National
Children’s Officers.
The principles contained in the Code – of fair
play, enjoyment, and a commitment to maintaining a child focus – are the
cornerstones of the ISC’s future work in relation to sport for young
people. Awareness of the Code and training in good practice,
including child
protection, are now being offered to those involved in children’s sport by
governing bodies and LSPs, in conjunction
with the HSE.
Local
Authority Swimming Pool Programme
- Under
the Local Authority Swimming Pool Programme, the Department of Transport,
Tourism and Sport provides grant aid to local authorities
for the building of
new pools or the refurbishment of existing pools. There are 58 pools in the
current round of the programme, of
which 46 have been completed and are open to
the public. The 12 remaining pools are at various stages of completion. From
2006 to
2011, some €95 million was spent under the programme, with a sum
of €6.9 million allocated in 2012.
Cultural and artistic
activities
- The
Arts Council upholds the rights of children and young people to enjoy their full
cultural entitlements. The Arts Council’s
strategy entitled Partnership
for the Arts,
2006-2010, and its current Strategic Overview, 2011-2013,
identify children and young people as an important constituency, with a
wide
range of programmes and supports in place for both in-school and out-of-school
activities. In 2006, the Arts Council established
a Young People, Children and
Education (YPCE) Team to oversee policy development, manage advocacy
initiatives, and administer funding
programmes in this area of its work. The
year 2009 marked 30 years of involvement by the Arts Council in the development
and support
of programmes for children and young people.
- The
Arts Council is keenly aware of the lack of sufficient existing national
datasets to support meaningful “data mining”
within the arts in
Ireland generally, and that data gathering is poor in relation to the
participation of children and young people,
even quantitatively. There is a need
to gather sufficiently precise and differentiated data relating to, for example,
the nature
of arts experiences; the location in which they occur; quality
assurance, particularly regarding initial and continuing professional
development of artists and teachers; and the demographic context. The Arts
Council welcomes the National Strategy for Research and
Data on Children’s
Lives, 2011-2016, launched in 2011 by the DCYA. The YPCE Team looks forward to
engaging with the process,
with a view to increased national understanding of
the role of the arts in children’s lives, and increased information on
children’s
participation and on the range of services that support
children’s engagement with, knowledge of, and enjoyment of arts and
cultural activities.
- Art-Youth-Culture:
FYI was a consultation initiative, held in 2010, that brought together more than
60 young people aged 15-23 to
discuss their participation in cultural life and
the arts with their peers and key policymakers during three days of arts-based
workshops,
discussions and meetings. Participants shared their experiences,
concerns and ideas with policymakers and cultural providers through
a day-long
series of round-table discussions and artistic presentations, the themes and
format of which were determined in advance
by the young participants. In total,
35 representatives from key public agencies and government departments, whose
activities impact
on young people’s experience of arts and culture,
attended the event. A dedicated website was designed and managed by a youth
arts
collective. The event was funded with support from the European Commission
through Léargas.
- In
July 2008, the Arts Council published Points of Alignment: The Report of the
Special Committee on the Arts and Education. The Special Committee was
established by the Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism in tandem with the
Minister for Education and
Science. The report focuses on arts-in-education
provision in Ireland and makes five key recommendations to improve such
provision.
Arts-in-education involves artists and arts organisations of all
disciplines (theatre, dance, visual arts, literature, music, film,
etc.)
visiting schools to present work and to engage in both short- and long-term
projects in which they collaborate with students
and teachers. It also includes
visits by schools to galleries, theatres and arts centres for exhibitions,
performances and workshops
of all sorts, designed to enrich the school
experience of thousands of young people throughout Ireland.
- Also
in 2008, the Arts Council published The Arts in Education and Other Learning
Settings: A Research Digest as a new online resource, which makes available,
in summary form, a very wide range of research, including a number of action
research
projects undertaken in the field of arts-in-education in Ireland. While
the focus is on arts in schools, other settings also feature,
such as arts in
youth work, arts in healthcare and arts in communities. The resource includes
hard data, Oireachtas reports, project
evaluations, policy frameworks and
guidelines, and a host of reports from many long-term projects undertaken by
local authorities,
cultural institutions, arts organisations and education
providers. It spans an almost 30-year timeframe, from 1979 to 2007.
- In
2006, the Arts Council published Artists~Schools Guidelines to provide
practical guidance for artists and teachers on how to design, manage and
evaluate schools-based arts initiatives collaboratively.
The guidelines were
disseminated widely within the arts sector and to every school in Ireland. The
Arts Council and the Department
of Education and Science each contributed 50% of
the total costs of this research initiative, which was managed by a jointly
established
working group.
- In
2006, the Arts Council’s Arts-in-Education Directory was updated
and launched as an interactive online resource (see www.artscouncil.ie). It provides details of
over 130 arts organisations in receipt of Arts Council funding (e.g. production
companies, festivals, venues,
resource organisations) that deliver
arts-in-education programmes for primary and post-primary schools at local and
national level.
- The
Public and The Arts 2006, a study undertaken by the Arts Council and
published in 2006, identified that the top priority for the public in terms of
spending
on the arts was “arts programmes and facilities dedicated to
working for and with children and young people”. The same
study found that
82% of respondents agreed that “arts education is as important as science
education” and that “lack
of an arts education at school is a
significant obstacle to developing an interest in the arts”. It concludes
that while there
has been some progress in arts provision for young people both
within the formal school system and in the public domain, “relative
to
their demographic significance, the developmental import of childhood
experiences and the economic dependence of young people,
however, it would
appear that further progress is required and would be welcomed by the Irish
public”. The 2007 report by the
National Economic and Social Forum (NESF),
entitled The Arts, Cultural Inclusion and Social Cohesion, identified
that “concerns have been raised about the level of expertise available
among teachers and within schools to adequately
implement the arts
curriculum”. It went on to suggest that it would be “useful to have
more links between artists, arts
organisation and schools to do
this”.
- The
Arts Council funds and otherwise supports work for and with children and young
people in a number of ways:
- €2.7
million was allocated in 2011 to arts organisations wholly and exclusively
dedicated to children and young people. Included
here is the National Youth Arts
Programme, catering for out-of-school contexts. This programme was established
in 1998 by the National
Youth Council of Ireland and is jointly funded by the
Arts Council and the DCYA.
- An estimated
€4.2 million was disbursed indirectly through funding a wide range of
venues, festivals, local authority programmes
and arts organisations across the
country, providing arts services for children and young people both in and out
of school as part
of a wider remit.
- A further
€280,000 was allocated to supports that include professional development
(mainly in the form of bursaries and training
grants) for artists and
practitioners working, or wishing to work, in the area of children and young
people’s arts. Other supports
include collaborative projects between
artists, children and young people, involving most art forms and organised in a
range of settings,
including:
- Writers-in-Schools
– managed by Poetry Ireland;
- Artists-in-Residence
in Youth Work – managed by the National Youth Arts
Programme.
- The Young
Ensembles Scheme was established by the Arts Council in 2008. By “young
ensemble” is meant a collection of young
people working together to create
art. Examples of ensembles might include a youth orchestra, youth choir, a
circus group, a band,
youth theatre, film group, dance group, a group of young
visual artists working together to create an exhibition (or a single artwork,
such as a mural or graffiti piece), a poetry or writing group, or a group that
works together to combine a number of art forms into
a performance/event. A fund
of €170,000 was disbursed to projects through this scheme in 2011.
- Other
significant initiatives specifically focused on children and young people
include the Children’s Literature Laureate Programme,
“Laureate na
nÓg”, managed by Children’s Books Ireland, and through Arts
Council funding of the national
resource agency, Music Network. The Arts Council
enjoys good relations and ongoing dialogue with Music Generation, an initiative
aimed at creating local music education partnerships, supported by U2 and the
Ireland Funds.
- The
Arts Council has taken a leading role in promoting good practice in child
protection within the arts sector since 2004. It has
developed a multifaceted
approach, implemented over a five-year period and involving cooperation between
arts organisations and key
agencies, notably the HSE and Central Garda Vetting
Unit. Its aim is to improve and extend opportunities for children and young
people’s
participation in all aspects of the arts through promoting safe
and inclusive practice. This has been achieved through the following
measures:
- Developing and
publishing guidelines for child protection in the arts sector in collaboration
with the HSE and key organisations in
the arts and cultural sector;
- Supporting and
resourcing arts organisations to develop enhanced skills, capacities and
policies in relation to child protection and
welfare;
- Requiring funded
organisations working with children and young people to develop child protection
policies and procedures as a funding
criterion;
- Retaining the
services of a specialist Child Welfare Advisor to implement this policy across
the arts sector;
- Developing
safeguards within the Arts Council through the development of in-house policies
and procedures for working with children
and young people;
- Providing
training, advice and information updates of relevance (e.g. Children First in
2011), maintaining relationships with the
HSE and others, and working
collaboratively with arts organisations to continually improve practice and
outcomes;
- Designing
tailored resources for use within the arts sector, including a web
resource.
- The
Arts Council continues to work with and alongside others – primarily the
Council of National Cultural Institutions (Education,
Community and Outreach),
Department of Education and Skills and associated agencies, DCYA, HSE and
National Youth Council of Ireland
– in order to ensure greater access for
the 1,000,000 citizens who constitute the target audience for young
people’s
arts in Ireland. At EU level, the Arts Council was represented,
together with the Department of Education and Skills, on the 2009/10
EU OMC
Group reporting on developing greater synergies between education, arts and
culture. The Group produced its final report in
July 2010, entitled European
Agenda for Culture – Working Group on developing synergies with education,
especially arts education. The Arts Council also liaises regularly with
colleagues in the Arts Councils of Northern Ireland, Scotland, England and
Wales.
Youth cafés
- The
development of youth cafés was identified in the 2007 Programme for
Government, responding to the repeated emphasis that
young people had placed on
the need for such recreational spaces.
- A
Youth Café Funding Scheme was established in 2010/2011 to create youth
cafés around the country. The funds provided
support to enhance existing
facilities, as well as providing significant funding for the construction of 16
dedicated new youth cafés,
concentrating in areas where no similar
facility was already in operation.
- It
is estimated that up to 100 youth cafés are now operating in the State. A
total of €2.2 million dedicated funding
has been spent to date by the DCYA
and significant additional funding has been provided by the Garda Juvenile
Diversion Programme.
The potential for these facilities to be utilised in the
dissemination of health and other information relevant to young people and
to
provide a forum for other youth-related work is being explored in various
facilities. Already, there is some evidence to suggest
that the provision of a
youth café can lead to many associated ancillary benefits for young
people, such as opportunities
for interaction with peers as well as valuable
practical experience gained in operating the cafés and raising funds to
ensure
facilities remain sustainable in the medium to long
term.
Provision for youth
- The
overall aims of the Youth Affairs Unit (YAU) within the Department of Children
and Youth Affairs (DCYA) are:
- To develop youth
policies and strategies that enable and enhance young people’s personal
and social development;
- To support the
youth sector in providing effective youth work and associated opportunities for
young people and to consolidate and
enhance existing provision of youth services
and initiatives;
- To monitor and
assess the youth work structures, supports and services so as to ensure both
quality of service and resource effectiveness;
- To support the
alignment of youth policies and services with other DCYA policies and services,
and with the broader policy and services
field in order to help ensure an
integrated and coordinated approach to the needs of young people;
- To liaise with
the EU/Council of Europe on youth policy and the implementation of EU programmes
for youth.
- The
overall budget for the youth sector in 2012 is €56.806 million on current
expenditure and €0.5 million on capital
expenditure. This funding supports
the delivery of a range of youth work programmes and services for all young
people, including
those from disadvantaged communities, by the voluntary youth
work sector. Youth work programmes and services are delivered to over
387,000
young people by some 1,400 youth work personnel, who in turn support a large
volunteer base, estimated by the National Youth
Council of Ireland at 40,000.
The mainstay of the Youth Affairs Unit (YAU) relates to the support and
development of youth work policy
and
provision.[44] The YAU provides a
range of funding schemes, programmes and supports to the youth sector, focusing
on youth development, youth support,
youth information, youth exchange and
recreational activities for young people. These are provided for staff-led and
volunteer-led
youth provision via a range of funding schemes.
- The
overall budget for the youth sector for the period 2008-2012 was almost
€315 million.
- The
following organisations, services and projects are supported through grant
aid:
- Youth Service
Grant Scheme – Funding is made available on an annual basis to
31 national and major regional voluntary organisations
to ensure the
emergence, promotion, growth and development of youth organisations with
distinctive philosophies and programmes aimed
at the social education and
personal development of young people. €11.051 million in 2012.
- Special Projects
for Youth – Grant-in-aid is made available in respect of out-of-school
projects for disadvantaged young people.
Priority is given to projects in the
spheres of special youth work initiatives, young homeless people, young
substance abusers and
young Travellers. In 2012, 181 projects were supported
under this scheme. €17.042 million in 2012.
- Young
People’s Facilities and Services Fund – This fund was established by
the Government in 1998 to assist in the development
of preventative strategies
in a targeted manner through the development of youth facilities, including
sports and recreational facilities,
and services in disadvantaged areas where a
significant drug problem exists or has the potential to develop. 182 projects
were supported
in 2012. €21.332 million in 2012.
- Local Youth Club
Grant Scheme – This scheme supports youth work activities at a
local level. Grants are made available to all youth clubs and groups through
local Vocational
Education Committees (VECs). There are 1,600 youth clubs under
the scheme. €1.035 million in 2012.
- Youth
Information Centres – Resources are provided for the development of a
network of Youth Information Centres. Their purpose
is to provide young people
with easy access to information on rights, opportunities, benefits, health,
welfare and other matters.
28 Youth Information Centres were supported under the
scheme in 2012. €1.4 million in 2012.
- Local Drug Task
Force Projects – Responsibility for 21 youth-related projects
transferred to the OMCYA from the Department of Education and Skills in January
2011. These projects, targeting young people under the various pillars of the
National Drugs Strategy, provide a range of supports
for young people by way of
targeted drug prevention and awareness programmes, as well as referrals.
€1.34 million in 2012.
- An Gaisce: The
President’s Award Scheme – Funding is provided for this programme of
merit awards, which are designed to
facilitate personal development through
participation in a series of challenges that test a young person’s
initiative, discipline
and caring skills. There were 9,000 participants in 2012.
€0.690 million in 2012.
- Léargas:
The Exchange Bureau – International exchange schemes are
administered on behalf of the DCYA by Léargas, the Irish National Agency
for the
EU Youth in Action Programme, 2007-2013. Léargas also administers
Causeway, the British/Irish Programme. €0.492 million
in 2012.
- National Youth
Health Programme – This is a partnership between the DCYA, HSE and
National Youth Council of Ireland. It aims
to provide a broad-based, flexible
health promotion/education support and training programme to youth organisations
and those working
with young people in the non-formal education sector.
€0.088 million in 2012.
- National Youth
Arts Programme – This is a partnership between the DCYA, Arts
Council and National Youth Council of Ireland. It is dedicated to the
development and advancement
of youth arts in Ireland and aims specifically to
realise the potential of young people through quality arts practice.
€0.067
million in 2012.
- Significant
progress has been made in recent years on a number of important areas for the
provision of youth, including:
- Establishment of
a National Child Protection Programme, which coordinates child protection
training initiatives and assists many youth
organisations in drafting child
protection guidelines and policies (2005/2006).
- Introduction of
Garda (Police) vetting for all new employees and volunteers in the youth work
sector (2006).
- Appointment of a
National Assessor of Youth Work to support the development of good youth work
practice through the assessment, monitoring
and review of youth work programmes
and services provided by the voluntary youth work sector in Ireland (2006).
- All eligible
single worker projects under the DCYA’s Special Projects for Youth
upgraded to two workers (2006/2007).
- Establishment of
North/South Education and Training Standards Committee for youth work for the
professional endorsement of youth work
training on an all-Ireland basis
(2006/2007).
- Resourcing of
regional Vocational Education Committees (VECs) to appoint youth officers to
coordinate and support local youth provision
(2006/2007).
- Appointment of a
National Youth Work Advisory Committee, under the terms of the Youth Work Act
2011, to advise the Minister in matters
relating to youth work policies and
service provision for young people (2007).
- Revision of the
Local Youth Club Grant Scheme to make it more responsive to the realities and
practicalities experienced by local
voluntary youth groups in the provision of
activities to young people (2008/2009).
- A
National Quality Standards Framework (NQSF) for Youth Work was introduced in
January 2011. This is primarily a support, development
and assessment tool that
provides services and organisations with the opportunity to articulate their
youth work practice through
a common language. The implementation of the NQSF is
resulting in an improvement in good practice and better value for money, and
is
assisting youth organisations and services in addressing the developmental needs
of young people to an even greater extent and
in a more cost-effective
manner.
- Having
set national standards for staff-led youth work projects and organisations via
the NQSF, the DCYA is now finalising Standards
for Local Youth Groups, for
volunteer-led youth clubs and groups funded by the Youth Affairs Unit.
- The
overall aim of these standards for youth clubs will be to support clubs in
creating and providing quality developmental programmes
and activities for young
people in safe and supportive environments, and to ensure that there is a
connection and continuity with
the standards that exist for staff-led youth
provision.
- The
DCYA is currently identifying training support needs arising from its Quality
Standards initiatives and intends to develop a coordinated
cross-organisational
training calendar to respond to these
needs.
VIII. Special protection
measures
- A
number of measures that fall under Special Protection have been outlined in
other sections of this report. This section provides
information on additional
relevant measures.
A. Children
outside their country of origin seeking refugee protection, unaccompanied
minors, internally displaced children, migrant
children and children affected by
migration
- The
Office of the Refugee Applications Commissioner and the Refugee Appeals Tribunal
continue to work with other agencies to ensure
that all asylum procedures take
the best interests of the child into account. Regular meetings are held with the
HSE and the Refugee
Legal Service in order to arrange for the processing of
unaccompanied minor cases and to deal with practical issues as they arise.
- Arrangements
are in place to facilitate the presence of a social worker at the interview
stage in cases of applicant minors who “age
out” (i.e. reach their
18th birthday) during the appeals process. Where feasible, their hearing will be
with a Tribunal Member
trained in dealing with separated children.
- Services
for unaccompanied minors who arrive in the Greater Dublin area are provided by
the HSE Separated Children Seeking Asylum
Social Work team, in conjunction with
Community Welfare, Psychology and other statutory agencies. Children who are not
reunited with
family are received into the care of the HSE, either on a
voluntary basis or through court under the Child Care Act 1991.
- The
HSE is implementing the Equity of Care Policy to ensure that all non-national
children and young people receive the same level
of care as that afforded to
indigenous children. Appropriate foster care placements are being identified and
matching of children
to families is taking place. The HSE service for separated
children seeking asylum has undergone significant development since 2009
and is
now recognised as an excellent service, with high standards of care and support
for children.
- Unaccompanied
minors over 18 not attending second-level education have been accommodated
within the Direct Provision system of the
Reception and Integration Agency
(RIA). Those young people over 18 who are in education are moved to adult RIA
accommodation services
in Dublin, where they remain until completion of their
relevant academic year.
- The
City of Dublin VEC’s Separated Children’s Service Access Programme
is a service for newly arrived separated children
that affords them an
opportunity to integrate into Ireland and into the education system in a
protected and supportive environment.
Services include the Access Education
Programme (see paras. 615-616), a youth club for newly arrived
unaccompanied minors, a drop-in
service, and an outreach service for those who
were minors but have reached the age of 18 and over. The programme receives
approximately
€210,000 annually from the Exchequer and has also received
European Refugee Funding.
- A
Joint National Protocol on Children who go Missing from Care has been agreed
between the Gardaí and HSE. The following measures
were agreed for
implementation:
- Collaborative
interviewing at the ports between social workers and Gardaí;
- Fingerprinting
of persons presenting as underage at the ports, for tracking purposes;
- Planned Garda
surveillance of those at risk of going missing from the point of presentation at
ports to the initial placement period;
- Monitoring of
the notification system of missing persons to local Gardaí by Garda
Inspectors;
- Joint training
of HSE staff and Gardaí/Garda National Immigration Bureau staff in
relation to children at high risk of going
missing;
- Sharing of
photographic evidence between HSE and Gardaí.
- The
decline in children presenting and remaining missing in the last quarter of 2009
is the result of intensive inter-agency efforts
throughout that year. It is the
intention of the Gardaí and HSE to continue to intensify joint efforts to
prevent children
from going missing from care and to detect those who
do.
B. Children in situations of
armed conflict, including physical and psychological recovery and social
integration
- This
issue is addressed under the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights
of the Child on the involvement of children in
armed conflict (see
paras. 185-186).
- Since
Ireland’s second report (2005), the Statute of the International Criminal
Court and the Agreement on the Privileges and
Immunities of the International
Criminal Court have been incorporated into Irish law via the International
Criminal Court Act 2006.
- All
asylum seekers entering the State are offered medical screening within the first
two weeks of arrival. There is a dedicated screening
team providing this service
at the Reception and Integration Agency’s Main Reception Centre at
Balseskin in Dublin. The screening
team is operated by the HSE and includes
linkages to psychological and other supports following that screening.
- In
the context of the children who have entered the asylum process, if it has not
already become apparent to the Health Services that
an unaccompanied minor
appears to have been exposed to armed conflict and is suffering physical and
psychological trauma, then the
Office of the Refugee Applications Commission
would bring this matter to the attention of the person assigned responsibility
by the
HSE for the child.
- A
group of experienced interviewers working in the asylum processing area of the
Office of the Refugee Applications Commission have
received additional
specialised training to assist them in working on cases involving unaccompanied
minors. This training includes
issues such as psychological needs,
child-specific aspects of the refugee process, the role of the social worker and
other issues
particular to refugee determination for unaccompanied minors. The
training module has been developed by UNHCR and the training is
facilitated by
UNHCR (see para. 288). The authorised officer, who prepares the report and
recommendation in relation to cases involving
unaccompanied minors, would also
have received the specialised training programme.
- While
the procedures relate to unaccompanied minors, the approach taken and in
particular the training provided is also of considerable
benefit in the
interviewing of children who are accompanied but whose parents have decided
should be the subject of a separate application
for
asylum.
C. Children in situations of
exploitation, including physical and psychological recovery and social
integration
Economic exploitation
- The
legislative protections against economic exploitation are outlined in
Table 3. Provision for the enforcement of this legislation
was included in
Ireland’s second
report.[45]
Sexual
exploitation and sexual abuse
- Since
Ireland’s second report (2005), there have been a number of enquiries into
sexual abuse and measures have been put in
place to protect children from this.
These are included in paragraphs 410-422.
- The
Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Act 2006 came into operation in June 2006 and
updated the existing provisions in Irish criminal
law concerning the protection
of children under the age of 17 from sexual abuse and exploitation. The
legislation provides, inter
alia, for a higher maximum penalty for defilement of
a 15 or 16 year-old child where the offender is a person in authority.
- In
addition to increasing penalties for offences in the 2006 Act, the Criminal Law
(Sexual Offences) (Amendment) Act 2007 updated
the offence of meeting, or
travelling with the intention of meeting a child for the purposes of sexual
exploitation. In addition,
the legislation criminalises the same conduct,
outside the State, by Irish citizens or persons ordinarily resident in
Ireland.
- A
Sexual Offences Bill to further enhance the protection of children against
sexual abuse and exploitation is at an advanced stage
of preparation. This will
implement the recommendations of Parliamentary committees and facilitate full
compliance with the criminal
law provisions of a number of international legal
instruments.
- In
April 2010, An Garda Síochána published a comprehensive policy on
the Investigation of sexual crime, crimes against children and child
welfare, the aim of which is to combine professionalism with sensitivity and
compassion in the investigation of sexual crimes. The policy
sets out the
standards, procedures and practices to be followed, provides instructions on the
assessment and management of the risk
posed to the community by convicted sex
offenders, and includes policy changes to the role of specialist victim
interviewers. In
addition, a Sexual Crime Management Unit has been established
to assist Gardaí in the investigation of such crime, promote
best
investigative practice and monitor a sample of investigations to ensure that
they are receiving appropriate attention. The policy
is currently being reviewed
in the light of developments since its publication, including the publication of
the revised Children First guidelines in 2011.
- The
Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Investigation Unit (DVSAIU) at the National
Bureau of Criminal Investigation is the national
Garda unit providing a nucleus
of expertise to other Garda units in the investigation of crimes of a sexual
nature, including child
abuse and exploration. Children First has been
adopted as Garda policy for the welfare and protection of children.
- In
response to an invitation by the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, Retail
Ireland (2012) has developed Guidelines on Childrenswear.
These were formally
launched in June 2012 and 10 of the main retailers of children’s clothing
have signed up to them. The guidelines
cover the styling, sizing, labelling and
marketing of clothes, footwear and accessories for children. Among the
directions included
in the guidelines are that fabric and cuts should provide
for modesty, slogans and images should be age-appropriate, and underwear
should
not contain enhancements or underwiring and should be labelled according to
chest size, not age.
Sale, trafficking and abduction
- Recent
measures to tackle the abduction of children are addressed in
paragraphs 441-447.
- In
February 2008, the Anti-Human Trafficking Unit (AHTU) was established in the
Department of Justice and Equality to ensure that
the Irish response to
trafficking in human beings is coordinated, comprehensive and holistic. A key
element of this strategy is the
National Action Plan to Prevent and Combat
Trafficking in Human Beings in Ireland, 2009-2012, which was published by
the Minister for Justice and Equality in June 2009. The dedicated website www.blueblindfold.gov.ie provides
full details on the concept of the Blue Blindfold – “Don’t
close your eyes to human trafficking”.
- The
Action Plan has a strong focus on preventing trafficking becoming a major issue
in Ireland. The plan was developed under four
main headings: (i) Prevention and
awareness raising; (ii) Prosecution of traffickers; (iii) Protection of victims;
and (iv) Child
trafficking. It sets out the structures that enabled Ireland to
comply with the relevant international instruments. Ireland has ratified
the
Council of Europe Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings,
which came into effect for Ireland on 1 November
2010. Ireland has also ratified
the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially
Women and Children,
which came into effect for Ireland on 17 July 2010.
- The
AHTU is currently undertaking a mid-term review of this Action Plan. As at
30 June 2011, a total of 55 actions specified in the
plan had been
completed, 34 were in progress and a further 55 were ongoing. Priorities for
2012 include the maintenance of existing
measures (such as the consultative
forums, the ongoing training and awareness raising programme) and the provision
of services to
victims of trafficking, as well as new actions, which include the
review of the CSPE module on human trafficking developed for the
Junior Cycle in
second-level schools, the development and distribution of a leaflet on child
trafficking, and the investigation of
ways of raising awareness among airline
staff and professionals working directly with families (such as public health
nurses).
- The
Criminal Law (Human Trafficking) Act 2008 updated the law on the trafficking of
children (see para. 206). Under this Act, a person
found guilty of
trafficking a child for the purposes of sexual exploitation, labour exploitation
or the removal of organs is liable
to life imprisonment. The legislation also
criminalises the sale and purchase of children for any purpose, with a maximum
penalty
of life imprisonment.
- The
EU Directive on Preventing and Combating Trafficking in Human Beings and
Protecting its Victims must be transposed by participating
Member States by
April 2013. To comply fully with criminal law measures in the Directive, it will
be necessary to amend the Criminal
Law (Human Trafficking) Act 2008, inter alia
to expand the definition of “exploitation”.
- National
Referral Mechanism is the term used to describe (i) the process by which a
suspected victim of human trafficking is identified;
(ii) the range of
assistance and support services available to potential and suspected victims of
human trafficking; and (iii) how
potential and suspected victims are referred or
can apply to access each of those services. Assistance provided by the HSE is
outlined
in paragraphs 291-292.
- In
2009, Ireland produced the first report regarding potential and suspected
victims of human trafficking. It provides an extensive
overview of trafficking
in human beings as it occurred in Ireland in 2009. Information was collected
from a number of sources including
the Garda National Immigration Bureau (GNIB),
the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service (INIS) of the Department of
Justice
and Equality, and several NGOs. The report provides important
information regarding suspected victims, their backgrounds and their
experiences.
- In
the 2009 Annual Report of An Garda Síochána, it is stated
that 68 incidents of human trafficking came to the attention of An Garda
Síochána
involving a total of 66 cases of potential and suspected
trafficking in human beings, 17 of whom were minors. In the 2010 Annual
Report, a total of 69 cases of alleged trafficking in human beings involving
78 alleged victims were reported. Of these 78 alleged victims,
19 were
minors. Of these, 15 were subjected to sexual exploitation and one to
labour exploitation, with the exploitation of the remaining
three being
uncategorised since there was no indication as to whether either labour or
sexual exploitation had occurred.
- Three
other dedicated units in State agencies dealing with this issue are the Human
Trafficking Investigation and Co-ordination Unit
in the GNIB, the Anti-Human
Trafficking Team in the HSE, and a specialised Human Trafficking legal team in
the Legal Aid Board. These
units have been set up as a response to
Ireland’s international obligations to provide services to victims of the
trafficking
of human beings. Dedicated personnel are also assigned to deal with
prosecution of cases in the Office of the Director of Public
Prosecutions and in
the New Communities and Asylum Seekers Unit in the HSE.
- An
Interdepartmental High Level Group was established by the Minister for Justice
and Equality in late 2007 to recommend the most
appropriate and effective
responses to trafficking in human beings. The High Level Group comprises senior
representatives from key
government departments and agencies. Members engage
with NGOs and international organisations in the manner of a round table forum.
The Group has established five interdisciplinary working groups, one of which
deals specifically with child trafficking.
- The
Garda Síochána Annual Policing Plans for 2010, 2011 and 2012
identified trafficking in human beings as a priority,
with emphasis placed on
prevention and detection of human trafficking. It was also identified as a
policing priority in 2011 and
2010.
- A
number of awareness-raising and training initiatives have taken place since the
establishment of the AHTU in 2008. Full details
of the awareness-raising work
undertaken to date can be seen on www.blueblindfold.gov.ie. This has
included training for Gardaí, members of the Legal Aid Board and NGOs.
- The
Department of Justice and Equality provided funding of €258,500 to two
NGOs during 2010: €250,000 to Ruhama, which
assists victims of sexual
exploitation, and €8,500 to the Migrant Rights Council Ireland (MRCI),
which assists victims of labour
exploitation. In 2011, funding was granted to
Ruhama in the amount of €225,000, with €17,000 going to MRCI. The
Department
of Justice and Equality also part-funded a photography exhibition,
“Not Natasha”, organised by the Immigrant Council
of Ireland. The
theme of the exhibition was sex trafficking and its effects on the victims.
- Ireland
also cooperates with the police forces of other jurisdictions, agencies and
international organisations in an effort to combat
the crime of human
trafficking.
D. Children in street
situations
- The
Programme for Government 2011-2016 commits, inter alia, (i) to end
long-term homelessness and the need to sleep rough, and (ii) to review and
update the existing Youth
Homelessness Strategy, developed in 2001, including a
specific focus on youth homelessness. A review of progress undertaken in 2008
by
the HSE in conjunction with other agencies found that significant progress had
been made, especially in the areas of inter-agency
cooperation, early prevention
and an out-of-hours services. The DCYA engaged the Centre for Effective Services
(CES) to undertake
a review of the implementation of the Youth Homelessness
Strategy in order to establish the extent to which it has been successful
and to
identify any blockages or challenges to its implementation. The CES will consult
with the relevant service providers, NGOs
and young people as part of this
process and will make recommendations. This evaluation is in its final stages
and publication is
expected shortly. In advance of the findings of this review,
the emerging view is that, overall, the Youth Homelessness Strategy
was felt to
have made a significant contribution to addressing the problem of youth
homelessness and at the extreme end has helped
ensure that children’s
sleeping rough on the streets has been virtually eliminated. This is backed up
by a recent report by
the Dublin Region Homeless Executive in November
2011, which found no children sleeping rough in Dublin during their
“Sleeping Rough
head
count”.
E. Children in
conflict with the law, victims and witnesses
- The
youth justice system should be considered in its entirety, from the Garda
Juvenile Diversion Programme through to the Children
Court and the Children
Detention Schools. It is important to note that a simple choice does not exist
between the Diversion Programme,
community sanctions and detention. The
principles of the Children Act 2001 require the various authorities to apply,
incrementally,
a series of “filters” or tests to each case where a
child comes into conflict with the law.
- The
first main filter is the Garda Juvenile Diversion Programme, involved at
different stages and depending on the seriousness of
the offence, the informal
caution (without supervision) and the formal (supervised) caution, including
possible involvement with
a Garda Youth Diversion Project. The second main
filter is provided by the non-custodial sanctions available to the courts,
including
dismissal under the Probation of Offenders Act 1907 and unsupervised
sanctions (fines, disqualification, peace bond, curfew, etc.).
The next stage
involves the Probation Service supervised sanctions (Probation Order, Community
Service Order and other community
sanctions provided in the Children Act 2001
(as amended)). Finally, as a last resort, detention may be used.
- The
provisions for child victims in the giving of evidence under the Criminal
Procedure Act 2010 are outlined in paragraph 210.
The
administration of juvenile justice, the existence of specialised courts and the
applicable minimum age of criminal responsibility
- The
age of criminal responsibility in Ireland is covered by Section 52 of the
Children Act 2001, which came into force in 2007 by
way of the Criminal Justice
Act 2006. The age of criminal responsibility was raised from 7 years to 12
years, and in general children
under the age of 12 years may not be charged with
an offence. However, a child aged 10 or 11 may be charged with serious offences,
such as murder, manslaughter, rape or aggravated sexual assault. A further
protection is provided by the Act in that where a child
under 14 is charged with
an offence, no further proceedings may be taken without the consent of the
Director of Public Prosecutions.
- As
was envisaged at the time of its enactment, the Children Act 2001 (as amended)
was implemented on a phased basis to allow for the
planned development and
strengthening of services. The commencement of all outstanding provisions of the
Children Act 2001 (as amended)
was completed in 2007. That year, the Government
approved the allocation of significant additional resources to allow for
effective
implementation of the Act. They included extra staff for the Probation
Service and the Irish Youth Justice Service, extra Judges
for the Children Court
and extra Juvenile Liaison Officers over the period 2007-2011. All of these
additional resources have been
put in place.
- Central
to the work of the Irish Youth Justice Service (IYJS) has been the National
Youth Justice Strategy, 2008-2010, developed in
partnership with the key
stakeholders in the area of youth justice. Its aim was to provide a partnership
approach among agencies
working in that system. It included a number of goals
and targets for the Government departments and agencies involved to help measure
progress and assess where available resources should be targeted. The majority
of the strategy’s objectives have been completed.
The IYJS is currently in
the process of developing a follow-up National Youth Justice Strategy under the
umbrella of the National
Children and Young People’s Policy Framework and
as part of a National Anti-Crime Strategy.
Children deprived of
their liberty, and measures to ensure that any arrest, detention or imprisonment
of a child shall be used as
a measure of last resort and for the shortest
possible appropriate time and that legal assistance is promptly provided
- The
Children Act 2001, as amended by the Criminal Justice Act 2006, provides that
the detention of a child is a measure of last resort
and states that children
under the age of 18 years may not be sentenced to imprisonment or committed to a
prison. The Act establishes
remand centres and children detention schools for
the remand and detention of children aged less than 18. These provisions came
into
effect on 1 March 2007. The Children Act 2001 states that any penalty
imposed on a child for an offence should cause as little interference
as
possible with the child’s legitimate activities and pursuits, and take the
least restrictive form appropriate in the circumstances.
- There
has been a downward trend in the numbers of children being detained at any one
time. The average annual use of detention was
134 places in 2004. This fell to
an average of 119 in 2006, 104 in 2008 and 80 in 2011. The introduction of new
community alternatives
to detention, further diversion measures and increased
inter-agency working should continue to reduce detention
trends.
The sentencing of children, in particular the
prohibition of capital punishment and life imprisonment, and the existence of
alternative
sanctions based on a restorative approach
- There
are a number of alternatives to detention available in the treatment of children
in conflict with the law or before the courts.
These are set out in the
following paragraphs.
- The
Garda Juvenile Diversion
Programme[46] was placed on a
statutory basis under Part 4 of the Children Act 2001.
- The
integration of the anti-social behaviour mechanism into the wider Garda Juvenile
Diversion Programme provides an effective incremental
process for dealing with
those who are slow to change behaviour. The options include (i) do nothing/no
further police action; (ii)
the informal caution; (iii) the formal caution,
which involves supervision by a Garda Juvenile Liaison Officer (JLO); and (iv)
prosecution.
Section 257F of the Children Act 2001 creates an offence of a
child not complying, without reasonable excuse, with a behaviour order.
In
practice, a child involved in anti-social behaviour and continuing to act so may
result in a Behaviour Order being sought by An
Garda Síochána
through the courts. This is a civil process for the most part and only becomes a
criminal matter if
a Behaviour Order, issued by a court, is not obeyed.
- The
Children Act 2001 was amended by way of Part 13 of the Criminal Justice Act 2006
relating to anti-social behaviour by children.
These provisions, which commenced
on 1 March 2007, set out an incremental procedure for addressing anti-social
behaviour. The anti-social
measures that apply to young people are separate from
those that apply to adults, and the protections of the Children Act 2001 apply.
With regard to children, these can include a number of actions ranging from a
warning from a member of An Garda Síochána,
a good behaviour
contract involving the child and his or her parents or guardian, referral to the
Garda Juvenile Diversion Programme,
to the making of a Behaviour Order by the
Children Court. The operation of anti-social behaviour procedures with regard to
children
is monitored and review of the relevant legislation is ongoing.
- During
the period from 1 March 2007 to 31 December 2011, 2,006 behaviour warnings were
issued to children, 15 good behaviour contracts
were made and
three
Behaviour Orders were issued by the Courts.
- Where
a court is making a decision on a child who has pleaded guilty, or is found
guilty of committing an offence, it is important
that the Judge has all the
relevant information about the child’s history in order to consider his or
her best interests. The
pre-sanction report, prepared by a Probation Officer,
facilitates this decision-making. It is important that the Probation Officer
also has access to all the relevant information. The overriding principle is
that detention must be used as a last resort.
- Garda
Youth Diversion Projects (GYDPs) are nationwide, community-based, multi-agency
crime prevention initiatives funded by the IYJS,
which seek to divert young
people from becoming involved in anti-social and/or criminal behaviour. The
projects are particularly
targeted at 12-17 year-old at-risk youths in
communities where a specific need has been identified and where there is a risk
of them
remaining within the justice system.
- Since
2006, the nationwide number of GYDPs has increased from 64 to 100. Over the past
three years, the primary focus has been on
ensuring the quality and
effectiveness of the services provided. As part of this process, the IYJS
undertook a baseline analysis
of the GYDPs, evaluating them in the context of
local youth crime patterns, the profile of young people who offend and the
available
evidence regarding best practice and improvements sought by the
projects. The results were published by the IYJS in July 2009 in
the report
Designing effective local responses to youth crime – A baseline
analysis of the Garda Youth Diversion Projects. Work is underway to
implement the recommendations of this report, with 14 trial sites developing a
best practice approach. Funding
for the 100 GYDPs amounted to just over
€11 million in 2011.
- Work
has recently been completed by the IYJS, in partnership with An Garda
Síochána and community-based organisations,
on a new governance
approach for the GYDPs to improve their effectiveness. The IYJS has also secured
ESF part-funding for a Human
Capital Investment Programme with the specific
purpose of increasing the capacity of participants to find employment. ESF
refunds
for 2010 came to €2.008 million and to €1.463 million in
2011.
- Young
Persons Probation (YPP) is a specialised division of the Probation Service with
dedicated resources to work with children aged
12-18 who come before the courts.
YPP implements a multi-agency approach to addressing offending by children and
works with a number
of dedicated community-based organisations in providing
services and interventions to child offenders and their families. FÁS
and
local VECs work in conjunction with some of these projects to offer training and
education. Counselling and other support services
are also offered. The
Department of Justice and Equality funds the work of the YPP community-based
projects around the country. These
19 projects received funding of just under
€5 million in 2011.
- Community
sanctions provided for under the Children Act 2001 (as amended) were introduced
on 1 March 2007. The sanctions are mainly
supervised and managed by the Young
Persons Probation (YPP) division of the Probation Service and provide the courts
with alternatives
to custody for young people who offend. Community sanctions
are aimed at reducing the number of children sentenced to detention by
the
courts. These sanctions include the Mentor or Family Support Order, which is
aimed at helping, advising and supporting the child
and his or her family.
Parents may also be involved in various steps under the Children Act 2001
through family and restorative justice
conferences, as well as good behaviour
contracts. Ten community sanctions are available to the courts, namely: a
Community Service
Order, Day Centre Order, Probation Order, Training or
Activities Order, Intensive Supervision Order, Residential Supervision Order,
Suitable Person (Care and Supervision) Order, Mentor (Family Support) Order,
Restriction of Movement Order (managed by An Garda Síochána),
and
Dual Order.
- Boys
up to the age of 17 and girls up to the age of 18 are currently catered for in
the Children Detention Schools. An interim provision
allows for the detention of
17-year-old boys in St. Patrick’s Institution due to a lack of sufficient
appropriate accommodation
within the Children Detention School system. At the
end of 2006, there were five Children Detention Schools in the country. There
are currently three Children Detention Schools in the State, with a total
capacity of 52 places (44 for boys and 8 for girls), all
of which are located on
the same campus at Oberstown, Co. Dublin.
- In
April 2012, the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs announced that capital
funding over three years has been secured to end
the detention of boys under the
age of 18 in St. Patrick’s Institution, with the construction of new
children detention facilities
on the existing campus at Oberstown. It is
expected that construction will commence in May 2013, with the project to be
fully completed
in July 2015. From mid-2014, when the first new detention places
to be provided under this project become available, all children
under 18 years
of age sentenced by the courts will be detained at the newly integrated children
detention facilities in Oberstown.
- As
of 1 May 2012, newly remanded or sentenced 16-year-old boys are detained in the
Children Detention Schools in Oberstown. This means
that the practice of
detaining 16year-old boys in St. Patrick’s has ceased. From 1 July 2012,
the remit of the Ombudsman for
Children’s Office was extended to include
boys under the age of 18 detained in St. Patrick’s. The Minister for
Children
and Youth Affairs is currently developing proposals to amend the
Children Act 2001 to provide for the management of all facilities
on the
Oberstown Campus on an integrated basis.
- A
Safeguarding Policy has been developed by the IYJS, designed to promote
children’s welfare, to safeguard children from harm
or abuse, and to
protect staff from potential false allegations of abuse. This has been put in
place following a review of the Child
Protection Policy document, which had been
developed and was in use across all of the Children Detention Schools. In
addition to
this policy, the IYJS employs a Child Welfare Advisor who deals with
child protection and welfare issues, as well as standards, inspections
and
complaint mechanisms in detention. Children’s detention centres have also
been visited by the Council of Europe Human Rights
Commissioner and the
Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT).
- All
staff employed in the Children Detention Schools are subject to vetting by the
Gardaí prior to appointment. A comprehensive
new Vetting Policy has been
developed and is being implemented across all of the schools.
- All
females under the age of 18 are detained in one of the existing detention
schools. At present, boys aged 17 are detained in St.
Patrick’s
Institution, a place of detention for 17-21 year-olds operated by the Irish
Prison Service. This practice will cease
in 2014 when new detention facilities
on the Oberstown campus are in place. In the meantime, much effort has gone into
improving
facilities and significantly increasing staffing at St.
Patrick’s for those who will continue to be held there pending the
development of new facilities. The separation of children and young adults has
taken place in so far as is possible, given the physical
limitations of the St.
Patrick’s site.
Physical and psychological recovery and
social integration
- The
primary role of the Children Detention Schools is to provide a programme of care
and education aimed at rehabilitating those referred
to them by the courts.
- The
IYJS is working with the HSE to develop a national specialist multidisciplinary
service for young people in special care and detention,
arising from the
Report of the Commission to Inquire into Child Abuse, 2009:
Implementation Plan, published by the OMCYA in 2009 (see
paras. 413-414). Development of the service is at an advanced stage and the
HSE is recruiting
staff. A Director was appointed in September 2012. The new
national service will incorporate an assessment service for children at
risk of
detention. This should reduce the need to remand children for the purpose of
assessment. Development of a forensic child
and adolescent mental health service
is also planned and, once established, will provide in-reach for young people in
detention.
Training activities developed for all professionals
involved in juvenile justice
- Training
undertaken by all professionals involved in the juvenile justice system has been
outlined in previous sections of this report.
F. Children
belonging to a minority or indigenous group
- Previous
sections of this report have addressed specific provisions for children
belonging to an ethnic minority (including asylum-seeking
children),
Irish-speakers and Traveller children.
[*] The present document is being issued
without formal editing.
[**] Annexes can be consulted in the files of
the secretariat.
[1] The data provided on
reconstituted families are estimates. Because information was only captured on
the Census form for the relationship
of each person in the household to the
first four persons in the household, some reconstituted families will not have
been identified.
For example, where Person 6 on the Census form was a stepchild
and Person 5 was the stepparent, this reconstituted family will not
have been
identified in the figures quoted above.
[2] CRC/C/IRL/CO/2, Committee on
the Rights of the Child, 43rd Session, Consideration of Reports Submitted by
States Parties under Article
44 of the Convention on the Rights of the
Child, Concluding Observations: Ireland.
[3] Ireland is ranked considerably
better on the education (2nd) and health (7th) tables.
[4] 2010, CRC/C/58/Rev.2.
[5] This legislative
responsibility includes the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (children
up to age 18), the National Educational
(Welfare) Act 2000 (children and young
people up to age 16 and age 17 if taking up employment) and the Youth Work Act
2001 (which
defines a young person as under 25 years of age, yet which lays
particular emphasis on young people in the 10-21 year age range).
[6] 1996, CRC/C/11/Add.12,
Paragraphs 86-89; 2005, CRC/C/IRL/12, Paragraphs 251-276.
[7] 1996, CRC/C/11/Add.12,
Paragraphs 95-103; 2005, CRC/C/IRL/2, Paragraphs 277-315.
[8] 1996, CRC/C/11/Add.12,
Paragraphs 104-116.
[9] 2005, CRC/C/IRL/2,
Paragraph 318.
[10] 2005, CRC/C/IRL/2,
Paragraphs 330-354.
[11] 2005, CRC/C/IRL/2,
Paragraph 368.
[12] 2005, CRC/C/IRL/2,
Paragraphs 370-371.
[13] 2005, CRC/C/IRL/2,
Paragraphs 373-374.
[14] 2005, CRC/C/IRL/2,
Paragraph 376.
[15] 2005, CRC/C/IRL/2,
Paragraphs 377-391.
[16] 2005, CRC/C/IRL/2,
Paragraph 385.
[17] 2005, CRC/C/IRL/2,
Paragraphs 392-396.
[18] Section 246 of the Children
Act 2001 states: (1) It shall be an offence for any person who has the custody,
charge or care of a child
wilfully to assault, ill-treat, neglect, abandon or
expose the child, or cause or procure or allow the child to be assaulted,
ill-treated,
neglected, abandoned or exposed, in a manner likely to cause
unnecessary suffering or injury to the child’s health or seriously
to
affect his or her well-being.
[19] 2005, CRC/C/IRL/2,
Paragraphs 300-301.
[20] 2005, CRC/C/IRL/2,
Paragraphs 406-412.
[21] 2005, CRC/C/IRL/2,
Paragraphs 413-433.
[22] 2005, CRC/C/IRL/2,
Paragraphs 425-426.
[23] 2005, CRC/C/IRL/2,
Paragraphs 426-429.
[24] 1996, CRC/C/11/Add.12,
Paragraphs 183-199; 2005, CRC/C/IRL/2, Paragraphs 434-437.
[25] 2005, CRC/C/IRL/2,
Paragraphs 438-443.
[26] 2005, CRC/C/IRL/2,
Paragraphs 465-466.
[27] 2005, CRC/C/IRL/2,
Paragraphs 467-468.
[28] 2005, CRC/C/IRL/2,
Paragraphs 469-470.
[29] 2005, CRC/C/IRL/2,
Paragraphs 471-472.
[30] 2005, CRC/C/IRL/2,
Paragraphs 480-527.
[31] 2005, CRC/C/IRL/2,
Paragraphs 511-512.
[32] 2005, CRC/C/IRL/2,
Paragraphs 509-510.
[33] 2005, CRC/C/IRL/2,
Paragraphs 493-495.
[34] 2005, CRC/C/IRL/2,
Paragraphs 533-539.
[35] 2005, CRC/C/IRL/2,
Paragraphs 575-577.
[36] 2005, CRC/C/IRL/2,
Paragraphs 156-163.
[37] The official source of
poverty and deprivation data, including child poverty, comes from the Survey on
Income and Living Conditions
(SILC) conducted by the Central Statistics Office.
SILC is a national household panel survey of approximately 5,000 households.
Similar
data on income and living conditions are collected in the 27 Member
States of the European Union, allowing for cross-comparability
across the
EU.
[38] Ireland is ranked
considerably better in the education (2nd) and health (7th) tables.
[39] 2005, CRC/C/IRL/2,
Paragraphs 624-634.
[40] 2005, CRC/C/IRL/2,
Paragraphs 681-683.
[41] Delivering Equality of
Opportunity in Schools (DEIS).
[42] 2005, CRC/C/IRL/12,
Paragraph 637.
[43] Data collected at primary
level is captured by country groupings, thus the number of nationalities is
unknown.
[44] Youth work, in summary, can
be described as being educational and elective, structured and systematic. Youth
work is predicated on
the voluntary participation of young people, operates in
various settings spanning non-formal education through to informal education,
and engages young people aged 10-24, representing a significant period in both
development and duration.
[45] 2005, CRC/C/IRL/2,
Paragraphs 772-776.
[46] 2005, CRC/C/IRL/2,
Paragraph 753.
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