Child abuse is a problem that has plagued Ireland for years and unfortunately, new figures are showing that it is still a prominent issue in our country.
The Irish Times reports that more than 80 cases of suspected child abuse or neglect are being reported to the HSE every single day.
According to reports, family members who have alcohol problems are the most common cause of concern, this is followed by children who have emotional/behavioural problems and parents who actively neglect their children or who can’t cope with them.
The HSE receives an estimated 30,000 child protection and welfare concerns annually, and it is believed that more than 16,000 of these concerns are over a child’s welfare. Meanwhile, around 13,000 deal with suspected abuse.
These figures were compiled by the HSE as part of a new business process, which is aimed at providing more accurate information about child-protection services.
According to the figures, in the first quarter of 2012, gardaí were responsible for reporting most cases, while teachers came next.
The Independent Child Death Review Group report stated poor information-sharing between child protection agencies is one of the main key issues when it comes to reports of child abuse being neglected.
Speaking yesterday, the Minister for Children, Frances Fitzgerald, said that improving communication between agencies was a priority.
“Getting different agencies to work in partnership together is something that will be key to the new Child and Family Support Agency. We’re examining lots of ways of doing this more effectively,” she said.
“In the UK, they are beginning to include members of the police in child-protection teams, for example, and I think that’s the way things will go here. The idea that a social worker has to do everything on their own isn’t the way to go,” she added.
Either way, it goes without saying that more needs to be done in order to protect the children that cannot protect themselves.
