Children First Bill 2014

A proposed new law, the Children First Bill, will put key elements of the Children First Guidelines on a statutory footing for the first time since the guidelines were issued in 1999. 

The Bill provides for a number of specific child protection measures, including the following:

• A requirement on mandated persons to report child protection concerns to the Child and Family Agency (Tusla) including teachers as well as medical practitioners; registered nurses; social workers; gardai; psychologists; members of the clergy; pre-school child care staff ; child protection officers of religious, sporting; cultural, recreational and educational organisations offering services to children;
• A requirement on mandated persons to assist the Child and Family Agency in the assessment of a child protection risk, if requested to do so by the Agency;
• A requirement on organisations providing services to children to comply with best practice in child protection as set out in the Children First Guidelines and to produce an organisational-specific Child Safeguarding Statement;
• Statutory arrangements to promote cross-sectoral implementation and compliance with Children First.

A copy of the Children First Bill [2014] can be accessed by clicking on the following link:

• http://www.oireachtas.ie/viewdoc.asp?DocID=25898&&CatID=59

INTO made a submission on the Draft Heads of the Children First Bill (available below) as published in 2012.  We will continue to monitor the Bill as it progresses through the Oireachtas.