Child sex abuse probes hindered by restrictive data protection rules

IRELAND
Irish Independent

By Ralph Riegel

Wednesday November 28 2012

GARDAI and health officials are being hindered in sharing information about sex abuse because of restrictive data- protection legislation.

The head of the Catholic Church’s child-protection body said that fears about defamation meant that information was not being passed on.

Ian Elliot, head of the Church’s National Board for the Safeguarding of Children (NBSC), warned that hundreds of child-protection cases are being hampered.

Under current regulations, legal protection is only afforded to an individual who reports a suspected case of child abuse to the gardai in good faith.

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