INVESTIGATION:THE REMIT of the Commission of Investigation into the Catholic Archdiocese of Dublin should now be extended to every other diocese in the country, a victim of abuse says.
Marie Collins, who campaigned for the investigation into the Dublin archdiocese, also called for the State’s guidelines on child protection to be made mandatory.
Highlighting the need for widening the investigation, Ms Collins said: “We know that the policy at leadership level was to cover up, and there is no reason to believe it was any different in the 24 other dioceses.”
She said Dublin and Ferns had been investigated and victims in remaining dioceses “deserve justice and for their dioceses to be investigated. If there are men in leadership positions with the same attitude as in Dublin, then they shouldn’t be there.”
Ms Collins warned that the State “must properly investigate each diocese. The HSE audit is just a questionnaire. It can’t be called an audit.” The dioceses would fill in the questionnaire, but she questioned what validity those responses could be given, in the wake of what had happened in Dublin and Ferns.
Ms Collins said the guidelines on child protection had been around a long time, but should be made mandatory. Doing so “gives them the force of law for implementation. Currently, they’re there but they can be ignored.”
A youth organisation has also called for legislative implementation of recommendations on “soft information”. Youth Work Ireland has warned that many people who have abused but have not been convicted could still work with children because of the failure to introduce recommended legislation.
Michael McLoughlin of Youth Work Ireland said the legislation was at the bottom of the Government’s legislative agenda.
Soft information refers to cases which involve substantive allegations, but fall short of a conviction. It could include an individual having been dismissed from a job for abuse but not charged, or someone acquitted but about whom there are major concerns.
Mr McLoughlin said it was a “difficult area”, but the legislation existed in other countries including Britain. “The Pre- Employment Consultancy Service (PECS) also operates in Northern Ireland, which makes such legislation all the more important here.”
There were safeguards and the area was strictly regulated. Individuals would be on a list available to a restricted number of parties.
Failure to introduce this legislation was a “critical weakness in the current child protection regime overseen by the State”, Mr McLoughlin said.
