IRELAND
Journal
THE CHILDREN FIRST bill has been published, Minister for Children and Youth Affairs Frances Fitzgerald announced today.
The legislation will put Children First: National Guidance for the Protection and Welfare of Children [2011] on a statutory footing.
This is a Programme for Government commitment and was recommended in the 2009 Ryan Report implementation plan.
In March, Fitzgerald noted that the bill “has been talked about by Fianna Fáil since 1999″. …
The Bill provides for a number of key child protection measures, including:
* A requirement on mandated persons to report child protection concerns to the Child and Family Agency (Tusla) including: medical practitioners; registered nurses; teachers; social workers; gardai; psychologists; members of the clergy
* 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;
* Organisations providing services to children required to to comply with best practice in child protection as set out in the Children First Guidelines and to produce a Child Safeguarding Statement;
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