287. Deputy Darren O'Rourke asked the Minister for Education and Youth further to Parliamentary Question No. 693 of 30 June 2026, if she is satisfied that school policies and procedures are sufficient to ensure children are protected; the way in which she assesses the system of child protection at school is fit-for-purpose; if she has concerns about the capacity of the system elsewhere, for example in Tusla, An Garda Síochána and the courts; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [52788/26]

The Department of Education and Youth takes child protection matters very seriously and considers the protection and welfare of children to be a fundamental responsibility of all involved in the care and education of children. Updated Child Protection Procedures for Schools were published in May 2025. The updated procedures for schools put in place significantly enhanced oversight measures at school level and at Department level to help ensure and demonstrate that the statutory obligations of the Children First Act, 2015 and the best practice obligations of the Children First National Guidance 2017 are being adhered to by both school personnel and by school authorities.

Schools are required to comply with Circular 31/2016 Commencement of Statutory Requirements for Garda Vetting which outlines that Section 12 of the Vetting Act requires that a school authority must not, other than where certain exemptions apply, commence the employment of an employee to undertake relevant work or activities before the school authority receives a vetting disclosure from the Bureau in respect of that person. This requirement applies in respect of all types of appointment of any duration including full time, part time and substitute positions.

The department has no role in employer/employee matters. Under the Education Act 1998, legally, all schools are managed by the school Board of Management, on behalf of the school patrons. It is the school Board of Management that employs the school’s teachers and other staff members except in Education and Training Board (ETB) schools, where it is the ETB that is the employer.  Any actions in relation to the school employee, in relation to employment matters, are exclusively a matter for the employer.

The department exercises oversight of how schools fulfil their obligations in legislation and in these procedures having regard to the governance responsibilities of school authorities. The department’s Inspectorate monitors schools’ compliance with the requirements of these procedures, provides advice to schools on the general implementation of these procedures, where appropriate and reports to the department on schools’ compliance with these procedures. The department’s Child Protection Oversight Group (CPOG) co-ordinates the department’s actions in cases where there are serious concerns regarding the compliance of a school with the requirements of these procedures.

I have been engaging intensively with officials in my department in recent weeks to ensure that child protection in education and youth service settings is robust and fit for purpose. The department continues to engage with Tusla and other relevant bodies to ensure that the system is as robust as possible.