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	Child Protection Watchdog to Be Unveiled Irish Examiner March 16, 2006 http://www.irishexaminer.com/breaking/story.asp?j=3744255&p=3744z7x&n=3744347&x= The appointment of an independent watchdog to ensure the Church is implementing its child protection policy will be announced within days, it emerged today. The watchdog will assess whether the Our Children, Our Church guidelines - published in response to the Ferns Report – are being exercised in every diocese in the state. Minister Brian Lenihan told the Joint Committee on Health and Children that the Church's guidelines were a step in the right direction, but that he could now validate or confirm that they were totally satisfactory. He added an amendment to the Criminal Justice Act 2004, currently being prepared, will create an offence of reckless endangerment of children. The minister, who has responsibility for Children at the Departments of Health and Children, paid tribute to the courageous victims of child sexual abuse who spoke out during the Ferns inquiry. "The Government, my office and indeed the whole country as a whole, was appalled, shocked and dismayed at the extent of the allegations of abuse outlined in the Ferns report," said Mr Lenihan. "Our duty is to ensure that proper child protection practices are in place and that they operate to the highest achievable standards. "In the past there have been shortcomings in the system which was in place. With the measures we are undertaking directly in relation to the Ferns Report and the developments that have occurred under successive governments over the past 15 years we have gone a long way to protecting our children. "But we must continuously strive to ensure that the levels of abuse outlined in the report never happen again." More than 100 allegations of abuse were made against 21 priests in the Diocese of Ferns between 1962 and 2002. The Our Children, Our Church document set out the Roman Catholic church's own policies and procedures for those who have responsibility for the protection of children and young people. Members of the committee raised concerns over the effectiveness of the HSE, the role of the Church in primary schools, the appointment of people within the Church as a first point of call for victims and mandatory reporting of suspected abuse. In excess of 12,500 alleged cases of child abuse and neglect were reported to the HSE between April 2004 and 2005 – of these one third were confirmed. Mr Lenihan said the HSE, which holds the operational responsibility for the delivery of child protection, has established a range of national projects to address the issues raised the Ferns Report including a nationwide publicity and awareness campaign on child sexual abuse, to be launched this weekend. It is also hoped that a single telephone hotline number will eventually be made available for people concerned over children's welfare.
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