128. Deputy Máire Devine asked the Minister for Education and Youth the reporting process for historical physical abuse in schools whether committed by staff or by other children and allowed/facilitated by staff; whether the full scope of the current Commission of Investigation covers this; if not, the reason; and whether any commission or planned commission in her remit or outside her remit has scope for this type of abuse. [15415/26]

The Department takes child protection very seriously and considers that the protection and welfare of children is a fundamental responsibility of all involved in the care and education of children. Since the introduction of a revised primary school curriculum in 1970 and the total prohibition of use of corporal punishment from 1 February 1982 child protection requirements and procedures in schools have been introduced and strengthened on a number of occasions.

The Children First Act 2015 and Children First: National Guidance for the Protection and Welfare of Children 2017 set out what individuals and organisations need to do to keep children safe and how to deal with concerns about a child’s safety or welfare.

Following the publication of the Children First Guidance in 2017, new Child Protection procedures for Primary and Post Primary Schools, were published. The procedures provide detailed direction to school management and staff on the identification of and response to child protection concerns and were last updated in May 2025. The procedures outline when schools are required to report retrospective abuse allegations to Tusla-the Child and Family Agency and/or An Garda Síochána. A report must be made to Tusla where the person against whom there is an allegation may pose a current risk to children. The procedures also contain advice for the school on how to respond to an adult who may disclose abuse that took place in their childhood.

The obligations and responsibilities which arise from the procedures have been taken very seriously by schools since their implementation and there is a very strong culture of child protection across the school sector. Resources to support child protection procedures are available at www.gov.ie/childprotectionschools.

The Department does not investigate the concerns which come to its attention but ensures that the details of any concern reported to the Department, including reports which relate to historical abuse, are immediately passed on to the relevant authorities, that is, Tusla, An Garda Síochána and/or the school authorities as appropriate.

The Commission of Investigation into the Handling of Historical Child Sexual Abuse in Day and Boarding Schools has been established by the Government to investigate the handling of historical child sexual abuse in schools.  This was recommended by the Scoping Inquiry whose remit was to consider the issue of historical sexual abuse, as distinct from physical abuse which is a separate issue.

It is clear from survivors of child sexual abuse who took part in the Scoping Inquiry’s extensive Survivor Engagement process that they want to see the Commission of Investigation completed in a timely manner.  The Commission is required to complete its work within a period of five years, using a sampling approach, and the scope of the Commission has been set out in its terms of reference to enable it to meet this critically important objective for survivors of child sexual abuse. The remit of the Commission is solely historical child sexual abuse.