Advice on the Heads of the Children First Bill 2012 and the Criminal Justice (Withholding of Information on Offences Against Children and Vulnerable Persons) Bill 2012

The Minister for Children and Youth Affairs published the Heads of the Children First Bill on the 25th of April 2012. The purpose of the proposed legislation is to place certain aspects of Children First: National Guidance for the Protection and Welfare of Children on a statutory footing. The Minister for Justice, Equality and Defence also published the Criminal Justice (Withholding of Information on Offences Against Children and Vulnerable Persons) Bill 2012 on the same day. This legislation creates a criminal offence of withholding information in relation to serious specified offences committed against a child or vulnerable person.
These initiatives represent a significant development in the legislative framework governing child protection in Ireland. We have decided to comment on the Children First Scheme and the Withholding Information Bill in the same submission because of the overlap between them with respect to the issue of reporting abuse.

• June 2012
• Type: Advice
• Topic: Child protection