This section is reprinted from Letters to the Editor page of The Irish Times, January 2, 2006. View original link at http://www.ireland.com/newspaper/letters/2006/0102/index.html#1134117201941

Madam, - As a member of the Lynott working group which contributed to the new child protection policies and procedures for the Catholic Church in Ireland, "Our Children, Our Church", I have been following with interest the views being expressed in your paper and elsewhere on the proposed arrangements for dealing with allegations received by the church. While not wishing to respond to all or any of the points, I thought it might be useful for your readers to understand the rationale for the proposals and how they are likely to operate in practice.

The receipt of an allegation of abuse by a member of personnel of any organisation is a traumatic event for the organisation and the complexities in managing the situation should not be minimised or underestimated.

This is well recognised by governments and their agents throughout Ireland and Great Britain and all have issued guidance in dealing with this.

The new policies and procedures adopted by the church are about, inter alia, managing cases of allegations that might indicate that that person is unsuitable to continue to work with children in their present position, or in any capacity. They are to be used in respect of all cases in which it is alleged that a priest, religious or other personnel (including volunteers) has:

Behaved in any way that has harmed a child, or may have harmed a child;

Possibly committed an offence against or related to a child; or

Behaved towards a child or children in a way that indicates s/he is unsuitable to work with children.

There may be up to three strands in the consideration of an allegation:

1. A police investigation of a possible criminal offence;

2. Inquiries and assessment by health and social services about whether a child or children is in need of protection; and

3. Consideration by the church of disciplinary action in respect of the individual.

Any procedures need to be applied with common sense and judgment. However, where an allegation (anonymous or otherwise) is made against church personnel there should be urgent consultation by the director of child protection with the civil authorities as to how to take the matter forward. If a person makes an allegation that is considered to be a potential criminal act, or indicates that s/he had suffered, is suffering or is likely to suffer significant harm, then there will be an immediate referral in accordance with the local procedures established by inter-agency arrangements.

There will be, however, instances where allegations made do not require referral under local child protection procedures. These could include the following:

a) Where following initial consideration it is absolutely clear to the director of child protection and the civil authorities that the allegation is demonstrably false by virtue of the fact that the immediate circumstances of the allegation show that it would not be possible for the allegation to be true; and

b) the allegation may represent inappropriate behaviour or poor practice by church personnel which needs to be considered under disciplinary procedures.

Any concerns about the appropriate course of action to be taken will be considered at an inter-agency meeting.

Acting in this way the church will be using the best practice employed by civil authorities in eg, education and health and social care settings and not attempting to exercise some control over what should be referred appropriately to the civil authorities.

The church and all organisations dealing with these matters are obliged to act with due diligence and owe a duty of care to all involved, whether complainant or accused. It is on this premise that the new policies and procedures are based.

Finally, there has been considerable comment about the need for inter-agency working and rightly so. Child protection and the response to allegations of abuse are a complex business involving many agencies and professionals and the need for multi- disciplinary and inter-agency working is well-established and essential. For this to work effectively each agency must have an understanding of each other's professional values and accept their respective roles, powers and responsibilities.

Much has been made of the merits of the recommendations of the Ferns Report on inter-agency working but it is important to note that they fall short of best practice in this regard, in particular, in relation to the role of the Health Service Executive. The Health Service Executive must be a key participant in interagency working and not simply the monitor and auditor of others' performance.

The Ferns Report was also remarkably silent on the need for best practice by the civil authorities in the Republic on joint investigations by the Gardaí and the Heath Service Executive and the need for specially trained staff in both services to conduct assessments and investigations.

The church cannot succeed on its own without the development of such services and it is important for the Government in the Republic to ensure that such initiatives as have been developed in the North of Ireland and Britain are brought forward as soon as possible.

Some joined-up government between the Department of Health and Children and the Department of Justice would go a long way to achieve this and thereby deliver the full interagency approach needed to make real inroads into tackling the evil of child abuse not only in the church but in families and the wider society.

The State owes it to its children to do so.

The church has made a significant step in producing its new policies and procedures. So far so good. Full implementation of the policies and procedures throughout the church is the key to a better future.

Vigorous pursuit of these reforms, properly monitored and reported upon, should ensure excellent standards of performance. It is a real challenge for the church but properly supported by the State it can be met.

Yours, etc,

Dr Kevin McCoy, Social Care Consultant, Holywood, Co Down.