NYCI’S CHILD PROTECTION PROGRAMME
SUMMARY OF CHILDREN FIRST BILL PUBLISHED ON 14 T H OF APRIL 2014
1. What is the background to the Children First Bill?
In 2009, the Ryan Report’s Implementation Plan recommended that the Children First
Guidelines “should be uniformly and consistently implemented throughout the state in
dealing with allegations of abuse”. In the programme for Government, a commitment was
given to place Children First: National Guidance for the Protection and Welfare of Children
on a statutory basis.
The Government published draft Heads of the Children First Bill in 2012, which was followed
by a consultation process (including NYCI’s submission and presentations to the Oireachtas
Committee on Health and Children)
http://www.youth.ie/sites/youth.ie/files/Final%20submission%20on%20the%20Children%20First%20Heads%2
0of%20Bill-July%202012_0.pdf
Since the consultation process, the Department of Children and Youth Affairs has been
involved in a considerable revision of the draft legislation. On 14th of April 2014, the
Government published the revised Children First Bill.
2. Who does this proposed legislation cover?
The proposed legislation applies to those organisations engaged in ‘relevant services’ which
is defined as: ‘Any work or activity which is carried out by a person, a necessary and regular
part of which consists mainly of the person having access to, or contact with, children in..’
See relevant services listed in Schedule One page 18 & 19.
Examples: schools, health and social services, sports organisations, providers of advice or
guidance including through electronic interactions, religious and spiritual organisations.
Youth work settings are covered under this legislation.
3. What is the purpose of this proposed legislation?
The purpose of this Bill is to ‘make further and better provision for the care and protection
of children including raising awareness of child abuse and neglect, providing for reporting
and management of child protection concerns and improving child protection arrangements
in organisations providing services to children’. Children First: National Guidance for the
Protection and Welfare of Children 2011 will operate side by side with this Bill.
4. What is proposed in the four sections of the Bill?
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Part One - provides for the definitions, regulations, expenses and guidelines and for the best
interests of the child to be the Child and Family Agency’s paramount consideration.
Part Two of the Bill requires providers of a relevant service to ensure that each child is safe
from harm while availing of that service i.e. carrying out a risk assessment and the
development of a child safeguarding statement. The statement must contain a written
assessment of the risk, and procedures that are in place to manage any risks identified,
details of procedures for allegations, selection and recruitment procedures, information and
training for staff, reporting procedures and list of mandated persons. This must be reviewed
every two years. The statement must be displayed prominently and made available to staff
members and on request to the parents, the Agency and the public.
Part Three of the Bill deals with mandatory reporting. Certain professionals and others have
been specified as ‘mandated persons’. Paid youth workers are included as mandated
persons, covered under Schedule 2 (pg 21).
Reporting is required:
 ‘where a mandated person knows, believes or has reasonable grounds to suspect, on
the basis of information that he or she has received, acquired or becomes aware of in
the course of his or her employment or profession as such a mandated person, that a
child has been harmed, is being harmed or is at risk of being, he or she shall, as soon
as practicable, report that knowledge, belief or suspicion to the Child and Family
Agency’.
(Harm means assault, ill-treatment, neglect or sexual abuse of a child).

Where a child makes a disclosure to a mandated person that he or she believes that
he or she is being harmed, has been harmed or is at risk of being harmed, that
mandated person shall, as soon as practicable, report that disclosure to the Child and
Family Agency.

A mandated person shall not be required to make a report to the Child and Family
Agency where ‘a child aged 15 years or more but less than 17 years is engaged in
sexual activity with a person who is not more than 2 years older than the child and
where the mandated person knows or believes that there is no material difference in
capacity or maturity between the two parties, and where the child has made known
his or her view that a report should not be made to the Child and Family Agency and
where the mandated person relied upon that view’.

Mandated persons are not required to make a report where ‘the sole basis for their
knowledge, belief or suspicion of harm is as a result of becoming aware that another
mandated person has made a report to the Agency in respect of the child concerned’.

This Bill applies to reports arising after the commencement of this legislation.
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
The report is to be made on a ‘mandated report form to be made available by the
Child and Family Agency and may be made by a mandated person acting on his or
her own, or may be made jointly with one or more other mandated persons’.

Reporting obligations under Criminal Justice (Withholding of Information on Offences
against Children and Vulnerable Persons) Act 2012 will still apply.

The Agency may request mandated persons to assist with assessments.

The Agency will share information with the mandated person which is considered to
be ‘necessary and appropriate’.

Information shared with a mandated person by the Child and Family Agency during
the course of an assessment shall not be disclosed to a third party by that mandated
person unless in accordance with the law or in circumstances where the disclosure is
authorised in writing by the Child and Family Agency. A person who fails to comply
with this section is guilty of an offence.
Part Four
Part Four provides for the establishment of the Children First Inter-Departmental
Implementation Group. This group will promote compliance, monitor implementation,
provide support to departments, promote consistent approach and report to the Minister.
‘each Minister of State shall publish a sectoral implementation plan concerning relevant
services provided by the Department concerned and concerning relevant services provided
by anybody that is in receipt of funds from that Department, to include the measures taken
or proposed to promote, review and report on compliance with the Act and other matters as
the relevant Minister considers appropriate’.
5. What happens next?
The draft Children First Bill is now ready to begin its passage through the Houses of the
Oireachtas. The provisions in the Bill are open to some amendments.
We understand that it is likely that this legislation will be commenced in the next 18 months.
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