Launch of Children First National Guidance Document at Dublin Castle on Friday, the 15th July 2011.
Assistant Commissioner Derek Byrne, National Support Services speaking at the launch of the Children First National Guidance Document commented:
"An Garda Síochána welcomes the publication of the Children First National Guidance Document and is committed to working in partnership and collaboration with the HSE and other departments and agencies to achieve the aims and objectives of the document.”
He stressed the centrality of the Children First National Guidelines to Garda policy for the protection and welfare of children saying:
"The brutal and ugly reality is that there are people in the community who seek to hurt and abuse children. Protecting vulnerable children must therefore be a priority for everyone and we in An Garda Siochana will continue to work with the HSE and other agencies to ensure children’s safety.
Effective interagency cooperation is vital to success in this area and it has a number of benefits. It ensures a comprehensive and consistent response to all concerns for child safety, facilitates the pooling of resources and skills at all stages and avoids gaps in the service response. Cooperation, coordination and information sharing are at the heart of Children First and as a consequence those principles are at the heart of Garda policy.”
Assistant Commissioner Byrne outlined how policy in this very challenging area is contained in Garda Siochana’s Policy on the Investigation of Sexual Crime, Crimes Against Children and Child Welfare which was approved by the Garda Commissioner in April, 2010. This document is available on the Garda website at www.Garda.ie. He said:
"Our policy document incorporates the existing Children First Guidelines and will now be updated to include the National Guidance Document launched here to-day. The Garda policy and structures now in place are very much victim focused and informed by a series of reports including the Ryan Commission to inquire into Child Abuse and the Murphy Commission of Investigation into the Catholic Archdiocese of Dublin. The policy document remains under constant review to ensure that it meets international best practice and is reflective of any learnings from future reports. The policy document clearly sets out what victims should expect from An Garda Síochána when reporting child sexual abuse or child welfare issues.”
The Assistant Commissioner continued:
"The Children First National Guidance Document will now be incorporated into the Garda training environment for communication to all Garda personnel, including senior management, to ensure that they are fully familiar with the aims and objectives of the document and the role of An Garda Siochana as set out at Chapter 7. Later in the year there will be joint training with HSE personnel who are to be involved in the interviewing of child victims.”
In closing he said:
"I wish to re-state the commitment of An Garda Siochana to working in partnership and collaboration with the HSE and other departments and agencies to ensure child safety and protection. It is through cooperation and sharing that we will be most effective in our roles.”
