http://hdl.handle.net/10147/143238 Wed, 19 Jun 2013 15:24:39 GMT 2013-06-19T15:24:39Z http://www.lenus.ie:80/hse/retrieve/313244/oofc.gif http://hdl.handle.net/10147/143238 http://hdl.handle.net/10147/252472 Title: Report to the Oireachtas on the Thirty-First Amendment of the Constitution (Children) Bill 2012 Authors: Ombudsman for Children Office (OCO) Description: 1.1. The Government published the Thirty-First Amendment of the Constitution (Children) Bill, 2012 on the 19th of September 2012. The Bill sets out a proposed amendment to the Constitution, repealing section 5 of the existing Article 42 and inserting a new Article 42A entitled “Children”. 1.2. Section 7 of the Ombudsman for Children Act, 2002 provides that the Ombudsman for Children may advise Ministers of the Government on any matter relating to the rights and welfare of children, including the probable effect of proposals for legislation on children. Section 13 also provides that the Ombudsman for Children may submit reports to the Oireachtas on the performance of her functions as she sees fit. 1.3. In accordance with these statutory functions, the Ombudsman for Children has on four separate occasions provided advice to the Government and to the Oireachtas regarding proposals to amend the Constitution to give greater protection to the rights of the child.1 The comments below on the Thirty-First Amendment of the Constitution (Children) Bill, 2012 have also been prepared in accordance with section 13 of the Ombudsman for Children Act, 2002. 1.4. In addition to these previous submissions, the Ombudsman for Children has engaged directly with successive Ministers for Children and Youth Affairs since November 2006 on the elements such an amendment to the Constitution should contain, as well as raising the matter with a number of Oireachtas committees.2 1.5. The wording contained in the Thirty-First Amendment of the Constitution (Children) Bill, 2012 represents a significant and positive step forward for children and families in Ireland. The Ombudsman for Children has been calling for an amendment to the Constitution to give greater protection to the rights of the child since its first year of operation. The central message of each submission made to the Government and to the Oireachtas on this issue has been the same: Ireland should enshrine key children’s rights principles in the Constitution in order to underpin a fundamental shift in our law, policy and practice regarding children. In particular, the Ombudsman for Children called for the inclusion of specific principles set out in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) in any such amendment to the Constitution.3 1.6. The constitutionalisation of principles derived from the UNCRC has also been recommended by international human rights monitoring mechanisms such as the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child and the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights.4 1.7. Previous submissions made by the Ombudsman for Children’s Office have set out in detail this Office’s analysis of how these principles could be incorporated into our Constitution and the positive effect this would have on the realisation of children’s rights. The comments below have not reproduced that analysis in detail; they have focused instead on the extent to which the Thirty-First Amendment of the Constitution (Children) Bill, 2012 reflects the recommendations made by the Ombudsman for Children in relation to constitutional change. 1.8. The proposed amendment will undoubtedly advance children’s rights in Ireland. Although it does not incorporate the principles of the UNCRC to the extent recommended by this Office, it will provide a strong foundation for future incorporation of those principles in our law and policy. Achieving this potential will, however, require a concerted effort on the part of the Government and the Oireachtas to abide by Ireland’s international obligations in this regard 1.9. The task of achieving consensus on a wording to amend the Constitution in this area is a complex one and the Ombudsman for Children’s Office welcomes the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs’ commitment to consulting stakeholders in relation to it. It was clear from the Ombudsman for Children’s direct engagement with the Taoiseach in April 2012 in relation to the wording of the amendment and her subsequent meetings with the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs and the Tánaiste that the final shape of the amendment would be determined by a wide range of factors. 1.10. This is a new beginning and not the conclusion of advancing children’s rights in Ireland; compliance with the UNCRC will remain an unfinished project. Bearing this in mind, the Government should consider what further actions need to be taken to ensure that the UNCRC permeates legislation and decision-making by public bodies regarding children. The momentum that has gathered behind the current proposal to amend the Constitution should be maintained beyond the referendum on the 10th of November. 1.11. It is well known that a referendum on the rights of the child has been called for by many, and that it is long-awaited. The Ombudsman for Children’s Office hopes that the best will be made of this very rare opportunity. Mon, 01 Oct 2012 00:00:00 GMT http://hdl.handle.net/10147/252472 2012-10-01T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/10147/252457 Title: Advice of the Ombudsman for children on the draft general scheme for the criminal justice (Withholding Information on Crimes Against Children and Vulnerable Adults) Bill 2011 Authors: Ombudsman for Children Office (OCO) Description: 1.1. The Minister for Justice, Equality and Defence published the Scheme of a Bill to create a criminal offence of withholding information relating to the commission of arrestable offences, including sexual offences, against a child or a vulnerable adult on 13 July 2011. In addition, the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs has indicated that she will bring forward legislation placing certain aspects of Children First: National Guidance for the Protection and Welfare of Children on a statutory footing. 1.2. These initiatives represent a significant development in the legislative framework governing child protection in Ireland. Section 7 of the Ombudsman for Children Act 2002 provides that the Ombudsman for Children may give advice to Ministers of the Government on any matter relating to the rights and welfare of children, including the probable effect of proposals for legislation. In accordance with this statutory function, the Ombudsman for Children’s Office has set out below a number of observations and recommendations on the proposals put forward by the Government. 1.3. This Office considers that the General Scheme of the Criminal Justice (Withholding Information on Crimes Against Children and Vulnerable Adults) Bill 2011 and the proposal to put Children First on a statutory footing consist of an overlap between them with respect to the issue of reporting abuse. It is acknowledged that the legislation relating to Children First will be broader in scope and address other issues such as inter-agency cooperation and information sharing1; however, the Children First guidance deals with arrangements for reporting child abuse and the General Scheme deals with the consequences for failure to report child abuse in certain circumstances. It is very important, therefore, that the obligations under each piece of legislation be consistent and that the overlap - as well as the differences - between them be clearly understood by those who will be affected by the legislation. It is recommended therefore that both pieces of legislation be advanced through the Houses of the Oireachtas at the same time and, if possible, in the same Bill. 1.4. In framing these comments the Ombudsman for Children’s Office has had regard to international human rights instruments relevant to the welfare and protection of children, the experience of other jurisdictions in relation to reforming child protection systems and its own work in the area of child protection. Since the establishment of this Office, child protection has featured consistently in the complaints brought to its attention, as set out in the Ombudsman for Children’s annual reports to the Houses of the Oireachtas. In addition, this Office has on two occasions submitted special reports to the Oireachtas on the matter and it carried out a national systemic investigation into the implementation of the Children First guidelines. The findings and recommendations from that investigation have been appended to this submission for reference. 1.5. International practice with respect to reporting child abuse varies considerably. The threshold for reporting, the scope of the obligation to report, and the penalties incurred for failure to do so display significant variation between jurisdictions. The wider context of how child welfare and protection services are configured and how the relevant statutory authorities work together are also crucial to determining how effectively legislative reporting requirements operate. Indeed, these elements are among those that will be addressed in the Children First legislation and in the ongoing reform of child welfare and protection services in Ireland. 1.6. In light of international experience and the fact that a significant amount of change is taking place on both a legislative and operational level, it would be prudent to include a specific provision in the legislation under consideration requiring a review of its operation within a given timeframe. We must remain 5 open to changing our approach if required in order to afford the greatest possible protection to children. Sat, 01 Oct 2011 00:00:00 GMT http://hdl.handle.net/10147/252457 2011-10-01T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/10147/252430 Title: Advice of the Ombudsman for children on the scheme of the National Vetting Bureau Bill 2011 Authors: Ombudsman for Children Office (OCO) Description: 1.1. The Minister for Justice, Equality and Defence published the Scheme of the National Vetting Bureau Bill on 27 July 2011. The aim of the Bill is to give effect to the recommendation made by the Joint Oireachtas Committee on the Constitutional Amendment on Children to introduce legislation to regulate and control the manner in which records of criminal convictions and information including soft information can be stored and disclosed by the Garda Síochána and other agencies for the purpose of child protection. 1.2. The Oireachtas Committee concluded that an amendment to the Constitution would not be necessary to allow for the establishment of a statutory vetting scheme that would satisfy the requirements of child protection and provide adequate safeguards for the rights of any persons affected by the proposed vetting legislation. Specifically, the Committee recommended in its first report on the 28th Amendment of the Constitution Bill 2007 that the Government prepare and publish as a matter of priority legislation to establish a statutory scheme: • for the vetting of all persons involved in working in any capacity with children; • for the statutory regulation of the manner in which information in relation to records of criminal prosecutions, criminal convictions and soft information may be collated, exchanged and deployed by An Garda Síochána or other statutory agencies for the purpose of ensuring the highest standards of child protection within the State; and • to require that all agencies, organisations, bodies, clubs, educational and childcare establishments and groups working with or involved with children ensure that all of those working under their aegis either in a paid or voluntary capacity with children are subject to vetting1. 1.3. Section 7 of the Ombudsman for Children Act 2002 provides that the Ombudsman for Children may give advice to Ministers of the Government on any matter relating to the rights and welfare of children, including the probable effect of proposals for legislation. In accordance with this statutory function, the Ombudsman for Children’s Office has set out below a number of observations andrecommendations on the proposals put forward by the Government in the Scheme of the National Vetting Bureau Bill 2011, in addition to highlighting a number of relevant international human rights standards. 1.4. The Ombudsman for Children’s Office has on a number of occasions provided advice to Government and to the Houses of the Oireachtas on proposals to amend the Constitution; in these submissions, this Office advised that such an amendment explicitly enable the Oireachtas to legislate for the collection and exchange of information relating to the potential endangerment of children2. 1.5. The absence of a statutory framework governing this aspect of child protection represents a serious lacuna in existing legislation aimed at shielding children from harm, notwithstanding the significant and essential work carried out by the Garda Central Vetting Unit (GCVU). The passage of the National Vetting Bureau Bill 2011 through the Houses of the Oireachtas is therefore a welcome opportunity to address this deficit and put in place a legally robust vetting system. 1.6. In emphasising the importance of vetting, however, it should not be forgotten that it is one component of a larger child protection framework and that it cannot guarantee children’s safety in isolation. A strong vetting mechanism is not a replacement for sound recruitment processes; indeed, as Children First: National Guidance for the Protection and Welfare of Children makes clear, employers and heads of organisations where staff or volunteers have access to children should at all times implement safe recruitment practices, including vetting of applicants and staff, rigorous checking of references, interview procedures and monitoring of good professional practice3. 1.7. In addition, reform with respect to vetting will necessarily interact with other forthcoming legislation relevant to child protection dealing with the reporting of child abuse, spent convictions, and the proposals to put Children First on a statutory footing. Every effort must be made to ensure consistency and coherence between these different proposals. 1.8. It is acknowledged that there are already great demands placed on the GCVU and that the issue of capacity cannot be ignored. However, the trajectory of law reform must be clear: Ireland should put in place a mechanism that builds on the work done at present and aligns it with best practice. Thu, 01 Dec 2011 00:00:00 GMT http://hdl.handle.net/10147/252430 2011-12-01T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/10147/252454 Title: Dealing with bullying in schools: A consultation with children and young people Authors: Ombudsman for Children Office (OCO) Description: It is estimated that there are at least 7,000 primary school and 3,700 post-primary school students who find it difficult to go to school every day as a result of being bullied frequently and that at least a further 24% of primary school students and 14% of postprimary school students have experienced bullying, albeit to a lesser extent.1 As has been outlined in the Ombudsman for Children’s annual reports to the Houses of the Oireachtas, the issue of bullying in schools is consistently raised with the OCO by parents. A significant majority of the more than 6,000 complaints dealt with by the OCO since its establishment have been made by parents on behalf of their children. On average, over 40 % of complaints made to the Office annually relate to education and bullying is consistently among the five issues raised most frequently in education-related complaints. Although the OCO has no role to investigate or substantiate allegations of bullying, it has had occasion to consider the manner in which such matters are dealt with in and by schools. In such cases, the OCO’s approach has been to promote the resolution of issues through local complaints procedures and, where necessary, to independently and impartially examine the matter further in order to arrive at an understanding of the issues involved and, where appropriate, make recommendations as regards how the matter might be resolved in the best interests of the child or children affected. From its consideration of complaints relating to bullying, the OCO is aware of a range of issues that can impede schools’ capacity to handle incidents of bullying effectively. Among these issues are: • Incidents of bullying can occur out of view of school staff (for example, in the toilets or school bus). Accordingly, there have been occasions where initial contact by the OCO with a school in relation to an issue concerning bullying is the first time the school has become aware of it. • Bullying behaviours can be symptomatic of diverse factors in a child’s life at home, in school, in his/her local community and/or in the wider society.2 As such, while schools have an important role to play in addressing bullying, they cannot carry sole responsibility for doing so and, where the issues involved are complex, they cannot be expected to handle the matter without the involvement and support of others. • There can be different – and divergent – views as regards the appropriate approach to dealing with specific incidents of bullying, including which policies and procedures to use and when, and the extent to and manner in which the children directly affected and their parents/carers should be involved in efforts to resolve the matter. Sun, 01 Jan 2012 00:00:00 GMT http://hdl.handle.net/10147/252454 2012-01-01T00:00:00Z