THE Government should reconsider planned laws compelling people to report to gardaí instances of child sex abuse, according to an Oireachtas committee.In a report, the justice committee suggests that Justice Minister Alan Shatter should consider making people report to the HSE instead.
Committee chairman David Stanton said mandatory reporting of child sex abuse was not a "black and white" issue.
The Fine Gael TD said it was "extremely complex and difficult" to draft legislation on this area.
He said the Criminal Justice (Withholding Information on Crimes Against Children and Vulnerable Adults) Bill 2011 needed "to strike a balance" between the confidentiality of the victim and the current risk to children or vulnerable adults.
Under a general scheme of the bill — the initial stage of the proposed law — a person who knows that sexual abuse has been committed against a child or vulnerable adult will be guilty of an offence if he or she fails, without "reasonable excuse", to disclose that information to gardaí.
Mr Stanton, flanked by members of the committee, yesterday published its report into hearings it held on the draft bill.
The committee held public hearings with the Rape Crisis Network of Ireland, the CARI Foundation (which works with child victims of sexual abuse) and One in Four (which works with adults victims of sexual abuse).
It also received submissions from Barnardos, ISPCC and Swim Ireland.
While all the groups generally supported the bill, there were differences on provisions, particularly over whether there should be an absolute requirement to report or whether it should be limited to protect either the victim and/or the person reporting.
Mr Stanton said that concerns had been raised by some support groups at the prospect of being obliged to report allegations to gardaí regardless of the victims’ wishes.
RCNI and One in Four were also concerned at the impact on victims if they knew the person to whom they were disclosing the abuse was legally obliged to inform gardaí. RCNI was also concerned at the implications for staff.
However, Barnardos and the ISPCC were particularly concerned at attempts to limit mandatory reporting.
Mr Stanton said this was just the initial stage of the legislative process and that the forthcoming bill would have to be far clearer and more extensive, including a detailed list of what would constitute a reasonable excuse.
Kate Hills of Swim Ireland, which has 5,000 adult volunteers, said the legislation had to be "understandable" to volunteers and that definitions needed to be clear.
* Contact:
National 24-hour rape helpline: 1800 778888;
One in Four: 01 6624070;
Childline: 1800 666 666