CASE MANAGEMENT of criminal cases where children are victims and reform of the laws on child pornography and on child abuse and neglect are among the recommendations of a report on child protection laid before the Oireachtas.
The Second Report of the Special Rapporteur on Child Protection has been discussed by the Cabinet, and will be placed in the Dáil library this week.
It follows a first report which was published in December last year, and which recommended, among other things, a vetting system that included “soft information” on people who had not been criminally convicted but who might pose a threat to children.
The second report, by child law specialist Geoffrey Shannon, points out that under the Constitution children are entitled to the right to privacy, bodily integrity and education, including physical, social, emotional, psychological and moral education, and that the State has a constitutional duty to uphold these rights and care for children where their parents fail to do so.
Mr Shannon begins his report by pointing out the adverse effects of delay on children in court proceedings, and recommends a system of case management in cases involving children in order to minimise delay. It suggests such a system be modelled on other courts where it is in operation, such as the Commercial Court, and points out that already there is a system in operation to ensure that proceedings under the Hague Convention on Child Abduction are dealt with within six weeks.
It proposes that those involved with child victims in the criminal justice system receive special training, and that Section 13 of the Criminal Evidence Act 1992 be commenced, enabling evidence to be taken from children via video link. Such evidence should be taken from venues outside the court, it suggests. In addition, the child in such proceedings should have access to representation, covering welfare and legal rights, through the extension of the guardian ad litem system.