# Child Protection
This year
2023
# Child Protection
Tusla didn't contact man over child abuse claim for 8 years as 'no worker was available'
Fourteen men came forward this week to allege they were abused by a now deceased teacher and guidance counsellor at the school.
All time
# Child Protection
New helpline for Mother and Baby Home survivors concerned about risk still posed by abuser
Tusla said perpetrators may have been involved in the abuse of multiple children over time.
# Children
Number of child safety failings in Direct Provision centres, ombudsman report finds
Staff at one centre were found to have not been vetted to work with children.
# Risk
What is being done to stop another George Gibney in Irish sport?
Dr Una May of Sport Ireland and Swim Ireland’s Kate Hills on child protection in Irish sport.
# Child Protection
Children's Ombudsman says State must ensure vulnerable children are not be 'left behind' due to Covid
Dr Niall Muldoon said vulnerable children are finding it much more difficult to manage through the pandemic.
# Child Protection
Tusla expressed concern children could be at risk of 'immediate harm' due to restrictions on its services
Internal risk reports expressed concern about the impact of reduced home visits and face-to-face meetings.
# abuse and neglect
'An awful lot of neglect': Fears for safety of children as Tusla points to drop-off in child protection referrals
Teachers and other professionals play a role in reporting suspected cases of child abuse – but schools are now closed until September.
# Child Protection
'You're not screening for them': Concern that trafficked Irish children are falling through the cracks
The OSCE’s special representative for combating human trafficking said children in foster care or those who came from abusive backgrounds are particularly vulnerable.
# Child Protection
Tánaiste says stricter online safety rules are needed: 'The days of self-regulation are over'
Calls for an online safety Oireachtas committee were heard in the Dáil today.
Voices
Column: Top tips for parents to avoid a holiday from hell this summer
They may be the apple of your eye but a break from the little darlings might just be the best part of your holiday, writes Shane Dunphy.
# Child Protection
Irish government to consider similar legislation to UK 'porn block' law
From July pornography sites will be required to have robust age-verification systems in place for UK users.
Voices
Child Protection: The failure to publish the report into Mother & Baby Homes is part of a continued cover-up
‘I have no problem with due process, but when this gets in the way of truth and allows a culture of secrecy and collusion to continue, then we need to re-evaluate’, writes Shane Dunphy.
# Social media regulation
Mark Zuckerberg tells TDs that Facebook is working proactively on child protection issues
Three TDs met with Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg in the Merrion Hotel in Dublin today
Voices
Our systems are not working to prevent child sexual violence, even after it is reported
Of all reported cases of child sexual violence only 2% end in a conviction. Children whose disclosures don’t result in a criminal conviction still need protection, writes Dr Clíona Saidléar.
Voices
Leaving Neverland: 'A monster was hiding in plain sight and we chose to look the other way'
Child protection expert Shane Dunphy writes that the allegations are credible and consistent but cannot now be proven definitively.
Voices
Opinion: Is the Catholic Church still covering up child sex abuse on the grounds that it is a 'pontifical secret'?
The summit heard that the canon law protection of ‘pontifical secret’ had been applied to numerous clerical abuse cases. Bizarrely, it was suggested that this practice should not continue – indicating that it is ongoing. writes Shane Dunphy.
# Child Protection
Scouting Ireland asks Tusla for evidence about why it questioned overnight camping trips
Scouting Ireland says these concerns were never raised with the organisation.
# scouting ireland
Parents told to ensure no overnight Scouting Ireland trips go ahead without safe number of supervisors
Tusla says an ‘immediate review’ of the current standards around the supervision of children should be undertaken.
Voices
Opinion: Is allowing children unrestricted internet access a child protection issue?
Would you be happy for your six-year-old to have unlimited, unsupervised access to a firearm – perhaps if it had been modified to only shoot lighter loads? asks Shane Dunphy.
Voices
Opinion: The death of James Bulger still haunts me
We have an ethical responsibility to face up to the dark truth that children perpetrate violence and equally we have an ethical responsibility to show empathy for victim’s families, writes Shane Dunphy.
# Children in Care
Judge told child in rural Irish town may have been trafficked
In another case the court heard a pre-school age child may have been sexually abused while in foster care.
Voices
'Helicopter parents: If you let your child fall down they might just learn to get back up again'
21st-century parenting is the reason that many young people today have remarkably poor coping skills, writes Shane Dunphy.
Voices
Opinion: We need to change Irish culture to lift the lid on child abuse
The Scouting Ireland scandal reminds us that more than 90% of child sex abusers are known to their victims and predators are experts at blending in, writes child protection expert, Shane Dunphy.
Voices
Opinion: Government plans to tackle child neglect - but we've heard it all before
The First 5 plan is one in a long line of strategies to protect children but nothing ever changes on the ground, writes child protection expert, Shane Dunphy.
# operation ketch
Arrest over distribution of 'child sex dolls' as gardaí raid 32 premises
Digital material, computers and mobile phones were seized in the searches which took place over the last five days.
# Child Protection
Facebook to start placing child abduction alerts on Irish users' feeds
CRI Alerts have only been used by gardaí on six occasions since their introduction.
# Child Protection
Sex offender information may be disclosed to 'necessary people' under proposed new law
The name, address and the risk the offender poses could be released on a case-by-case basis under the proposed new law.
# Child Protection
Child abuse cases bogged down by lack of cooperation between gardaí and social workers
A major report has found that the courts aren’t adequately resourced to deal with complex cases.
# Abuse
Childline answered 381,000 calls, texts and online messages from children last year
72% of phone calls answered by the charity came from males.
# Child Protection
'Inexperienced and untrained gardaí' investigating allegations of child sex abuse
Special Rapporteur for Children Dr Geoffrey Shannon said there has been no significant follow-up from garda management after it asked him last year to help with training.
# Child Protection
Children's rights groups angry at Dáil vote setting digital age of consent at 16 (they wanted it to be 13)
The government had put forward a proposal to set the digital age of consent at 13.
# Allegations
Scouting Ireland's State funding frozen over governance concerns following rape allegation
The funding freeze comes after a man in the organisation was reinstated, without garda vetting, despite a rape allegation being made against him.
# Child Abuse
Nearly 20,000 reports of suspected child abuse were made to Tusla last year
This represents a 5% increase from 2015 figures.
# Geoffrey Shannon
Author of damning report on gardaí's child protection record invited to train new recruits
Professor Geoffrey Shannon published a comprehensive audit of the gardaí’s child protection practices in May.
# child care act
Tusla is "very concerned" after child sexual abuse issue raised on RTE Investigates
A report published yesterday found chronic systemic failures in the functions carried out by Tusla.
# Child Protection
Beaten, neglected, left home alone - The report 'every parent in the country needs to read'
A shocking report published yesterday highlights cases of abuse and neglect of children in this country – and the State’s efforts to protect them.
# tusla
'Children are treated like human trash': The systematic failings in Ireland's child protection system
A report published today found serious issues with inter-agency cooperation when dealing with vulnerable children taken from their parents.
# Reform
Tusla inquiries are a 'major distraction' according to chief executive
McBride was speaking at the launch of Tusla’s new child protection and welfare strategy for 2017-2022.
# rape crisis network
'Our culture blames victims as young as 12': New report on sexual violence in Ireland launched
At the launch of its annual report, the RCNI spoke about consent, abortion and how we judge teenage victims.
