IRELAND
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Dublinn
Child safeguarding measures increase as level of complaints decrease
An ongoing decline in the number of abuse allegations against priests has allowed the Dublin Diocesan Safeguarding service to significantly increase the level of child protection training it offers to parishes.
Today (Friday 12th June) the SCPS, Child Safeguarding and Protection Service, launched its annual update of statistical information and also highlighted the availability of Towards Peace, a national service aimed at providing spiritual support to victims of abuse.
The Director of Safeguarding for the Dublin Archdiocese, Andrew Fagan, said the number of allegations of abuse processed by the service has dropped significantly over the past five years. This has allowed them to apply more resources in the area of safeguarding and increase the effort around prevention of child abuse.
This includes providing training to child safeguarding representatives in parishes, meeting regularly with parish teams and identifying and improving areas where prevention measures can be improved.
Close to 1,000 people availed of training and information services last year. The number of Dublin Diocesan trainers accredited by the National Board has increased and another 7,000 people including clergy, lay staff and volunteers were Garda vetted.
Mr. Fagan paid tribute to the many external agencies represented that supported them in their work, including members of An Garda Síochána and representatives from Tusla, the Child and Family Agency. He said it was also crucial to the work of the SCPS that they can rely on the support and expertise of the staff of the National Board for Safeguarding Children in the Catholic Church and organisations that support those who have experienced sexual crime. He said over the years they have developed very positive working relationships with One in Four, the Rape Crisis Centre and others.
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