Groups call for child protections

I the aftermath of the publication of the damning Ryan report into the systematic abuse of children in religious-run institutions, the coalition said a failure to put right the wrongs would only serve to compound the “national shame” surrounding the widespread abuse which has shocked the nation.
In a joint submission to government and opposition parties, the groups said the abuses uncovered by the child abuse commission’s investigation had imposed an obligation on the state to come to terms “with the fact that the rights of children were traduced for generations in Ireland.”
“We have to be totally honest about the situation in which too many vulnerable children still find themselves in Ireland, about the lack of family support in times of difficulty, about the inadequacy of child protection and services for children,” they said.
The coalition, which included Barnardos, Cari (Children At Risk in Ireland), Children’s Rights Alliance, Dublin Rape Crisis Centre, The Irish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (ISPCC) and the One in Four victims group, said resources had to be found to put these things right.
The groups stated: “There will be no excuse if in a future generation a new commission finds that even with all we know, Ireland is still not a place that values childhood and respects and protects children.”
In their statement, the groups described the children sent to industrial schools and reformatories as our “disappeared” and their treatment “as a source of national shame.”
The groups called for the adoption of a seven-point plan to improve children protection services as part of the national response the Ryan report.
The plan included a call for the “necessary” resources to be made available so that a proper system of child protection – including services outside normal hours – can be put in place.
It also called for the immediate recommitment by the government to a referendum on the rights of children, suggesting there should be no summer recess of the D_il while this issue is outstanding.
The groups want the establishment of a national authority to ensure the implementation of national guidelines on child protection and these guidelines to be put on statutory basis.
The plan includes providing survivors of abuse with well-resourced counseling, support and advocacy services.
It also calls for national therapy and assessment service for children who are currently suffering abuse, and national treatment facilities for children, teenagers and adults who have exhibited sexually harmful behavior must be put in place as a child protection measure.