In June of this year, a scoping report on the sexual exploitation of children in State care by UCD academics - Dr. Mary Canning, Dr. Marie Keenan and Ms Ruth Breslin - was published. The report outlined in horrifying detail the predatory behaviour that these young people, mainly young girls, were being subjected to. We are told they are being manipulated, coerced or deceived into sexual activity in return for something they want or need, to the advantage of the perpetrator. We read how some of the most vulnerable children in this State - those in State care - are going missing or running away from home or a care placement despite the fact that some have an intellectual disability, have suffered prior sexual abuse or neglect, or have engaged in alcohol or drug misuse.

Unfortunately, this frankly terrifying and explosive report was lost in the media noise generated by the RTÉ payments controversy. It has received nothing like the kind of media and political attention that it deserves, because it is very concerning.

I have tabled a number of parliamentary questions on this matter. The most recent reply left me almost speechless. I have been informed that almost five months on from the publication of this explosive report, the Department of children has made no contact with the Department of Justice to discuss these matters, nor has anyone from the Department of Justice reached out to the Department of children. How can this be? We know that the Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Act 2017 clearly states that a child below the age of sexual consent, which is 17, cannot consent to sexual activity. This clearly demonstrates that there is a legal and justice-related dimension to this issue, yet, in five months, there has been no engagement with or from the Department of Justice on the scoping report and its recommendations.

My staff and I have met Dr. Canning and Ms Breslin. We had an informative, fruitful and constructive discussion. They acknowledge that the Minister, Deputy O'Gorman, took the issue seriously, but there is clearly a desperate and almost unforgivable lack of urgency, which concerns many of us greatly. Urgency must be applied to this issue at an interdepartmental level. I ask the Tánaiste to ensure that attention is refocused on this highly significant report and that it becomes a priority of the Government, particularly the Departments of children and Justice, to progress the recommendations made in the report. Will the Tánaiste commit to doing that today?

I thank the Deputy for raising this important issue. The UCD sexual exploitation research programme, SERP, report raises matters of the most profound concern. The Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth and Tusla are aware of risks to children in care. Tusla is continually working to address these complex and concerning issues, including working with An Garda Síochána as required. There is no doubt that children in the care of the State are the most vulnerable individuals in our society. Tusla and the Department are committed to promoting safe and high-quality practice in all areas of alternative care.

This report raises concerning issues regarding the potential exploitation of children, including those in the care of the State. Some contributors to the research reportedly felt that young girls in residential care were being targeted by predatory and organised groups. That is particularly concerning. The report does not purport to be representative of the experience of all children or professionals working with children. Nonetheless, it sheds an important light on these important matters.

As the Deputy fairly said, the Minister, Deputy O'Gorman, has engaged with the authors of the report. His officials have engaged with Tusla to ensure that any child protection concerns outlined in the report are being actively followed up, including in respect of any necessary reports to An Garda Síochána. Prior to the publication of the UCD report, the Department of children and Tusla established a working group looking at institutional and organisational abuse. The Department has since requested that this group examine the report, provide a response and make recommendations as required. I have been informed that once this working group provides a response to the SERP report, it is the intention of the Minister to then pursue what further steps may be deemed necessary. On 27 July, the Minister met a delegation from the UCD SERP, including one of the authors of the report, in order to discuss the research in more detail. He outlined to them the next steps he is taking. The authors of the report were urged to report to Tusla any child protection issues that were mentioned in the report, where a child may be at risk.

On 31 July, the Minister wrote to the joint committee on children in order to provide his observations on the report and outline a number of significant initiatives that Tusla and the Department of children have undertaken in recent years to mitigate the risks to children of sexual exploitation while they are in the care of the State. On Wednesday, 20 September, the Minister engaged directly with the joint committee on children on wide-ranging matters relating to Tusla's provision of alternative care services. A range of key actions have been undertaken by the Department in respect of child sexual exploitation. On 10 July, the Department wrote to Tusla and requested from the agency a response to the UCD report to outline the extent to which the issues raised were being addressed and to identify any gaps relating to child sexual exploitation. The Department again requested that the institution abuse group consider the report, provide a response and make recommendations. The Department also requested Tusla to liaise with An Garda Síochána regarding the issues raised and the findings of the report. The Department is leading an interdepartmental group on the national implementation of Barnahus, which is a multi-agency approach to the provision of forensic medical intervention and therapeutic services to children subject to child sexual abuse.

I thank the Tánaiste for his response. I regard this situation, as many others do, as an emergency. It is shocking and it needs more urgency and actions, at speed. I believe the actions need to be sped up significantly. I know one immediate action that could be taken today and committed to is to deal with how these issues are classified by the Department of Justice. I know that was emphasised in my discussions with Dr. Canning and Ms Ruth Breslin. The scoping report clearly shows that the reclassification of data by the Department of Justice in 2017 has led to a significant reduction in offences recognised as trafficking of children for sexual exploitation, although the reasons offered for the reclassification were deemed vague and difficult to substantiate in a meaningful way by the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission. The whole area of reclassification needs to be looked at. I want to end by saying that it would be to our eternal shame if we were to allow this scoping report and its findings to once more recede into the media and political shadows. The voices of these children, who desperately need our help, need to be heard above the noise. They are screaming for our help and we must not turn a deaf ear towards them. We must act.

I thank the Deputy for raising the issue. I think, if she does not mind me saying, that she has performed a good public service in having the issue brought to the floor of this House during Leaders' Questions. It gives the issue the attention and profile that it, without question, deserves and justifies. In 2021, Tusla implemented a child exploitation procedure in partnership with An Garda Síochána. There is a strong partnership between Tusla and An Garda Síochána. A joint working protocol between Tusla and An Garda Síochána forms a critical part of the response to child abuse, neglect and sexual exploitation.

A principal social worker from Tusla has been seconded to the Garda National Protective Services Bureau for a number of years. Tusla has established an anti-trafficking working group in readiness of the Department of Justice's national action plan for human trafficking, which includes the area of child sexual exploitation. I will follow up with the Minister on the issue of the reclassification of these issues and will revert back to the Deputy.