HSE REPORT:A HEALTH Service Executive audit of child protection practices in the State's Catholic dioceses is to be ready for presentation to the Minister of State for Children Barry Andrews by the end of April.
The audit had been due to be completed on December 22nd last but was delayed when the newly appointed assistant national director, children and families social services, of the HSE, Phil Garland, sought further information from the bishops.
Mr Garland had been director of the child protection service in Dublin’s Catholic archdiocese until mid-November when he took up his current appointment with the HSE.
Mr Garland then wrote in early December to all Catholic bishops seeking further information about statistics supplied from the dioceses about allegations of clerical child sex abuse.
Mr Garland has told The Irish Timeshe sought the names of alleged abusers from the bishops "so I could confirm with the gardaí and local health officers that the names had been reported to them by the bishops."
It would also allow the bishops to supply new information which may have come to light in the fall-out from the Murphy report, published on November 26th last.
He extended the HSE audit deadline to January 7th, to allow the bishops to supply the required additional information.
Approximately half of the dioceses missed the deadline, with a spokesman for the Catholic bishops saying this was due to Christmas and New Year, which are among the busiest times of the year for bishops.
However, all dioceses had supplied the required information by the end of last month, though “four or five dioceses” have yet to supply other information on their child protection policy and practices.
Mr Garland said he was satisfied with the co-operation of the bishops. The information from the dioceses was now being analysed, a task in which he is assisted by 20 child care managers across the State.
He has already met Assistant Garda Commissioners Derek Byrne and John O’Mahoney on the audit and expected that a report on its findings would be ready for presentation to Mr Andrews by the end of April.
He hopes, in the near future, to begin an audit of the religious congregations and all remaining 140 Catholic bodies in the State. This work would involve 12 additional staff, he said.
Speaking yesterday Mr Andrews confirmed he expected to receive the audit next month.
He said the Government was currently undertaking its own audit under the auspices of the Health Service Executive (HSE).
Mr Andrews said it was ultimately up to the Government to decide whether to extend the Murphy commission of investigation into clerical child sex abuse beyond the diocese of Cloyne.
He said he was satisfied the church was broadly complying with the HSE audit.
“I think the pope’s letter is helpful in that context because there can be no equivocation on the part of diocese or their representatives over co-operation with State authorities. That was clearly set out in the letter and I am pleased about that.”
