1053. Deputy Claire Kerrane asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the statutory protections available to frontline social care professionals, advocates, and members of the public who raise child-safeguarding concerns in good faith involving public bodies or publicly funded services; whether her Department has identified any evidentiary or legal gaps in those protections where concerns relate to multi-agency settings or external providers; and the legislative reforms being considered in this area. [65254/26]

The Children First framework is designed to ensure that concerns about children are brought to the attention of Tusla without delay.

The Children First Act 2015 places legal reporting obligations on mandated persons across a range of professions to report concerns at or above a defined threshold to Tusla. In addition, under Children First: National Guidance for the Protection and Welfare and Children 2017, everyone has a duty to report reasonable concerns about a child's welfare to Tusla. There is a further obligation on all persons under the Criminal Justice (Withholding of Information on Offences against Children and Vulnerable Persons) Act 2012 to report to An Garda Síochána any information about an offence against a child.

The Protections for Persons Reporting Child Abuse Act 1998 provides that any person who reports child abuse to designated officers of Tusla, the HSE, or An Garda Síochána is protected from civil liability, provided the report is made reasonably and in good faith.

These reporting responsibilities are supported by wider safeguarding obligations under the Children First Act 2015, which are placed on providers of relevant services to children, including the requirement to have procedures in place for the reporting of concerns to Tusla, in respect of staff under investigation, for the selection and recruitment of staff and for the provision of information and training of staff. Where statutory obligations under the Children First Act 2015 are not met, Tusla has the power to place a provider on a publicly available Register of Non-Compliance.

Children First has been rolled out on a sectoral basis and each Government Department is responsible for promoting compliance with its funded sectors. Every Department, as well as Tusla, An Garda Síochána and the HSE, sits on the Children First Inter-Departmental Implementation Group, whose functions include supporting, monitoring and reporting on compliance.

The Department is not aware of any gaps in the area of protections for persons reporting child safeguarding concerns but such matters are kept under review.