Per capita alcohol consumption by Irish teenagers has doubled over the past three decades. There has also been a doubling of the suicide rate among young men. The aim of this study was to measure the correlation between alcohol consumption and negative mood (as measured by elements of the Beck Depression Inventory) in a sample (n = 169) of final-year secondary school male students. A questionnaire was devised to ascertain frequency, type and quantity of alcohol consumed, as well as attitudes towards drinking in general. The questionnaire also assessed overall mood disturbance, and these two sets of results were analysed and correlation coefficients calculated. It was found that both alcohol consumption and mood disturbance varied widely throughout the sample and that total alcohol consumption correlated weakly but significantly with overall mood disturbance. However, there was a stronger, more significant correlation between frequency of feeling drunk and mood disturbance, indicating a much greater effect on the teenagers’ mood from binge drinking than from consistently drinking the same quantity of alcohol.
{"title":"Adolescent males in secondary school in Ireland: alcohol use and depressed mood","authors":"R. Kerr","doi":"10.21427/D7NX59","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21427/D7NX59","url":null,"abstract":"Per capita alcohol consumption by Irish teenagers has doubled over the past three decades. There has also been a doubling of the suicide rate among young men. The aim of this study was to measure the correlation between alcohol consumption and negative mood (as measured by elements of the Beck Depression Inventory) in a sample (n = 169) of final-year secondary school male students. A questionnaire was devised to ascertain frequency, type and quantity of alcohol consumed, as well as attitudes towards drinking in general. The questionnaire also assessed overall mood disturbance, and these two sets of results were analysed and correlation coefficients calculated. It was found that both alcohol consumption and mood disturbance varied widely throughout the sample and that total alcohol consumption correlated weakly but significantly with overall mood disturbance. However, there was a stronger, more significant correlation between frequency of feeling drunk and mood disturbance, indicating a much greater effect on the teenagers’ mood from binge drinking than from consistently drinking the same quantity of alcohol.","PeriodicalId":30337,"journal":{"name":"Irish Journal of Applied Social Studies","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2013-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"67746503","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
The globalisation paradigm has emerged within contemporary social thought as the preferred framework of many urban theorists. This essay discusses the relative usefulness of understanding Belfast as a ‘global’ city and argues that the dominance of ‘Troubles talk’ and discourses of ‘neutral’ space and post-Good Friday Agreement stability have often been explored at the expense of such an understanding. Focusing on a few select examples, most notably the ambitious ‘Titanic Quarter’ development in the city’s docklands, the essay attempts to reposition Belfast within a wider global context by examining how a globalised economy, culture and polity are manifest in the city. In doing so however, it is acknowledged that a wholly global theory cannot hope to fully consider the complex nature of urban life. By drawing attention to those investigating the local and every-day, the essay concludes that a single theoretical lens can offer only a partial understanding. Future research regarding Belfast, it is suggested, should also remain mindful of the seemingly mundane ‘practices’ of the city and the subjective experience of individuals, in order to offer the most comprehensive and nuanced understanding possible.
{"title":"How Useful is it to Understand Belfast as a Global City","authors":"P. Rea","doi":"10.21427/D7SM76","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21427/D7SM76","url":null,"abstract":"The globalisation paradigm has emerged within contemporary social thought as the preferred framework of many urban theorists. This essay discusses the relative usefulness of understanding Belfast as a ‘global’ city and argues that the dominance of ‘Troubles talk’ and discourses of ‘neutral’ space and post-Good Friday Agreement stability have often been explored at the expense of such an understanding. Focusing on a few select examples, most notably the ambitious ‘Titanic Quarter’ development in the city’s docklands, the essay attempts to reposition Belfast within a wider global context by examining how a globalised economy, culture and polity are manifest in the city. In doing so however, it is acknowledged that a wholly global theory cannot hope to fully consider the complex nature of urban life. By drawing attention to those investigating the local and every-day, the essay concludes that a single theoretical lens can offer only a partial understanding. Future research regarding Belfast, it is suggested, should also remain mindful of the seemingly mundane ‘practices’ of the city and the subjective experience of individuals, in order to offer the most comprehensive and nuanced understanding possible.","PeriodicalId":30337,"journal":{"name":"Irish Journal of Applied Social Studies","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2013-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"67749112","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Ireland has a longstanding history of diverse volunteer action (Volunteering Ireland, 2010a). Ireland’s current economic recession has impacted on the community and voluntary sector, with frequent contraction in staff numbers and incomes, and increasing reliance on volunteer participation (Harvey, 2012). This study utilised social capital theory to garner a phenomenological understanding of the contribution of volunteering to perceived social capital amongst Irish volunteers and host organisation representatives. A convenience sample of 28 participants (17 volunteers and 11 organisation representatives) was interviewed. A shift in personal and social definitions of volunteering were described, with informal volunteering increasingly replaced by structured, formalized and regulated volunteer placements. Volunteers described their experiences as contributing to increased personal well being and sense of purpose, development of friendships and meeting new people. The volunteer participants identified volunteering activity as a specified community need, providing work related experiences, fulfillment in free time and opportunity for upskilling. Integration of volunteers into the organisation’s workforce was described as dependent on duration, intensity of interaction and scope of volunteer contributions. Power differentials and a lack of trust between volunteers and staff, was described, as was a lack of volunteer recognition staff. Subsequently, some volunteers identified and aligned themselves within the wider social volunteer network rather than their host organisation. The research reflected an emergent consumerist approach to volunteering and underscores the need to preserve informal social networks of community volunteers, alongside the development of more formalized work specific routes for volunteering in Ireland.
{"title":"Mé Féin nó an Pobal: Social Processes and Connectivity in Irish Volunteering","authors":"M. Hout, Hilery Tarrant, M. Foley","doi":"10.21427/D7BF0S","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21427/D7BF0S","url":null,"abstract":"Ireland has a longstanding history of diverse volunteer action (Volunteering Ireland, 2010a). Ireland’s current economic recession has impacted on the community and voluntary sector, with frequent contraction in staff numbers and incomes, and increasing reliance on volunteer participation (Harvey, 2012). This study utilised social capital theory to garner a phenomenological understanding of the contribution of volunteering to perceived social capital amongst Irish volunteers and host organisation representatives. A convenience sample of 28 participants (17 volunteers and 11 organisation representatives) was interviewed. A shift in personal and social definitions of volunteering were described, with informal volunteering increasingly replaced by structured, formalized and regulated volunteer placements. Volunteers described their experiences as contributing to increased personal well being and sense of purpose, development of friendships and meeting new people. The volunteer participants identified volunteering activity as a specified community need, providing work related experiences, fulfillment in free time and opportunity for upskilling. Integration of volunteers into the organisation’s workforce was described as dependent on duration, intensity of interaction and scope of volunteer contributions. Power differentials and a lack of trust between volunteers and staff, was described, as was a lack of volunteer recognition staff. Subsequently, some volunteers identified and aligned themselves within the wider social volunteer network rather than their host organisation. The research reflected an emergent consumerist approach to volunteering and underscores the need to preserve informal social networks of community volunteers, alongside the development of more formalized work specific routes for volunteering in Ireland.","PeriodicalId":30337,"journal":{"name":"Irish Journal of Applied Social Studies","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2012-08-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"68646398","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
The Ryan Report, published in 2009, was not the first review of child welfare services to raise disquiet. Nevertheless it was unique in that its recommendations went beyond the deficits exposed by the report to comment on the entire child protection system. It is generally acknowledged that the model of child welfare that was the object of the Ryan Report no longer operates, and has been replaced by community based services and a system of regulated out of home care. However, on publication of the report, the government appeared to question whether, with what we now know, we can be assured that today’s services are fit for purpose. A number of reforms are underway as a result of the report, but the degree to which they are likely to achieve better outcomes for children and families is open to challenge. This paper will draw on existing sources of knowledge about the state of child protection in Ireland, including statistical data, empirical research, reviews and policy papers. It will also look at how other jurisdictions have used comparable data sources to tackle similar issues and consider how we can benefit from international experience.
{"title":"Using intelligence to shape reforms in child protection","authors":"H. Buckley","doi":"10.21427/D7MX50","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21427/D7MX50","url":null,"abstract":"The Ryan Report, published in 2009, was not the first review of child welfare services to raise disquiet. Nevertheless it was unique in that its recommendations went beyond the deficits exposed by the report to comment on the entire child protection system. It is generally acknowledged that the model of child welfare that was the object of the Ryan Report no longer operates, and has been replaced by community based services and a system of regulated out of home care. However, on publication of the report, the government appeared to question whether, with what we now know, we can be assured that today’s services are fit for purpose. A number of reforms are underway as a result of the report, but the degree to which they are likely to achieve better outcomes for children and families is open to challenge. This paper will draw on existing sources of knowledge about the state of child protection in Ireland, including statistical data, empirical research, reviews and policy papers. It will also look at how other jurisdictions have used comparable data sources to tackle similar issues and consider how we can benefit from international experience.","PeriodicalId":30337,"journal":{"name":"Irish Journal of Applied Social Studies","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2012-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"67746043","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
The importance of family experiences on children’s development and wellbeing has been widely documented. Yet, recent reports generated by inquiries into child abuse and neglect in the Irish context raise disturbing questions with regard to how the severe maltreatment of children can occur within the family context. It is imperative that the messages generated from these inquiries can effectively inform policy and practice in terms of protecting children from harm and providing support to families at-risk. The present paper draws together key issues for parenting and family support for families ‘at risk’ based on the Roscommon and Monageer inquiries with a view to gaining insight into key issues which need to be addressed in terms of protecting children from harm and providing support for parents experiencing adversity. A number of implications arising from these reports are outlined and discussed. Specifically, the need to amplify the focus on support for parenting in the context of poverty and substance abuse is highlighted with a particular emphasis on developing sensitive screening and assessment for parents who may be difficult to engage with due to chronic mental health issues. The importance of accessing the voice of children within the provision of family support is also underlined in these findings. A key recommendation from these reports is that the needs, wishes and feelings of each child must be considered as well as the totality of the family situation. Moreover, the need for staff in child welfare and protection services to have access to ongoing training and professional development to meet the complex and changing needs of the children and families they are working with is also highlighted. Specifically, ongoing training for frontline staff in understanding the effects of drug and alcohol dependency, and, in particular, the effects on parenting and parent-child relationships is underscored in findings from these reports.
{"title":"Parenting and family support for families 'at risk' - implications from child abuse reports","authors":"Ann Marie Halpenny","doi":"10.21427/D77Q8N","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21427/D77Q8N","url":null,"abstract":"The importance of family experiences on children’s development and wellbeing has been widely documented. Yet, recent reports generated by inquiries into child abuse and neglect in the Irish context raise disturbing questions with regard to how the severe maltreatment of children can occur within the family context. It is imperative that the messages generated from these inquiries can effectively inform policy and practice in terms of protecting children from harm and providing support to families at-risk. The present paper draws together key issues for parenting and family support for families ‘at risk’ based on the Roscommon and Monageer inquiries with a view to gaining insight into key issues which need to be addressed in terms of protecting children from harm and providing support for parents experiencing adversity. A number of implications arising from these reports are outlined and discussed. Specifically, the need to amplify the focus on support for parenting in the context of poverty and substance abuse is highlighted with a particular emphasis on developing sensitive screening and assessment for parents who may be difficult to engage with due to chronic mental health issues. The importance of accessing the voice of children within the provision of family support is also underlined in these findings. A key recommendation from these reports is that the needs, wishes and feelings of each child must be considered as well as the totality of the family situation. Moreover, the need for staff in child welfare and protection services to have access to ongoing training and professional development to meet the complex and changing needs of the children and families they are working with is also highlighted. Specifically, ongoing training for frontline staff in understanding the effects of drug and alcohol dependency, and, in particular, the effects on parenting and parent-child relationships is underscored in findings from these reports.","PeriodicalId":30337,"journal":{"name":"Irish Journal of Applied Social Studies","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2012-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"68645358","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
This paper examines the issue of social workers’ caseloads in child protection and welfare in the Republic of Ireland. High caseloads impact on the type and quality of service provided to children and families, and on worker retention and job satisfaction. This exploratory paper examines the limited available evidence on social workers’ caseloads in the Republic of Ireland and presents data on child protection and welfare social workers’ perspectives on their caseloads drawn from a qualitative study. These analyses are set in the context of the Irish State’s commitments since the publication of the Ryan report. A central argument of this article is that the recommendations of successive child abuse inquiries in Ireland have given rise to expectations and demands on child protection and welfare teams that are not possible to meet given the increasing level of referrals and the high numbers of children for whom social workers are responsible.
{"title":"An impossible task? Implementing the recommendations of child abuse inquiry reports in a context of high workloads in child protection and welfare","authors":"Kenneth Burns, J. MacCarthy","doi":"10.21427/D7172P","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21427/D7172P","url":null,"abstract":"This paper examines the issue of social workers’ caseloads in child protection and welfare in the Republic of Ireland. High caseloads impact on the type and quality of service provided to children and families, and on worker retention and job satisfaction. This exploratory paper examines the limited available evidence on social workers’ caseloads in the Republic of Ireland and presents data on child protection and welfare social workers’ perspectives on their caseloads drawn from a qualitative study. These analyses are set in the context of the Irish State’s commitments since the publication of the Ryan report. A central argument of this article is that the recommendations of successive child abuse inquiries in Ireland have given rise to expectations and demands on child protection and welfare teams that are not possible to meet given the increasing level of referrals and the high numbers of children for whom social workers are responsible.","PeriodicalId":30337,"journal":{"name":"Irish Journal of Applied Social Studies","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2012-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"68641769","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Book Review: The Blue Wall of Silence: The Morris Tribunal and Police Accountability in Ireland","authors":"S. Kilcommins","doi":"10.21427/D73140","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21427/D73140","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":30337,"journal":{"name":"Irish Journal of Applied Social Studies","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2012-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"68642759","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
The Inquiry Report of the Roscommon Child Care Case (HSE, 2010) was the first Inquiry Report into intra-familial child abuse and neglect in the Irish context to explicitly identify a gender dimension to its findings. This paper seeks to build on these observations and argues that an analysis of the gendering processes that underlie understandings of and responses to neglect, violence and abuse can make child protection policy and practice more effective. The absence of an analysis which places gender at the core of policy and practice in child protection and family support raises serious questions about the differentiated responses to women and men who are subject to and perpetrators of violence, rape and abuse. Constructions of femininity and masculinity within child protection which systematically excludes fathers and mitigate sexual abuse by mothers must be addressed in order to enhance the support offered to parents and the quality of protection available to children. In addition a discourse of ‘mother-blaming’ which renders women responsible for matters over which they have little control and the reinforcement of men’s power when their abuse remains invisible in professional interventions are the unintended consequences of ignoring the gender dimension of work in this challenging field. The findings of this paper suggest that a gender lens may contribute to better practice in child protection and the greater likelihood that children will be protected and parents supported, each according to their need.
{"title":"Gendered processes in child protection: 'Mother blaming' and the erosion of men's accountability","authors":"Majella Mulkeen","doi":"10.21427/D7H721","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21427/D7H721","url":null,"abstract":"The Inquiry Report of the Roscommon Child Care Case (HSE, 2010) was the first Inquiry Report into intra-familial child abuse and neglect in the Irish context to explicitly identify a gender dimension to its findings. This paper seeks to build on these observations and argues that an analysis of the gendering processes that underlie understandings of and responses to neglect, violence and abuse can make child protection policy and practice more effective. The absence of an analysis which places gender at the core of policy and practice in child protection and family support raises serious questions about the differentiated responses to women and men who are subject to and perpetrators of violence, rape and abuse. Constructions of femininity and masculinity within child protection which systematically excludes fathers and mitigate sexual abuse by mothers must be addressed in order to enhance the support offered to parents and the quality of protection available to children. In addition a discourse of ‘mother-blaming’ which renders women responsible for matters over which they have little control and the reinforcement of men’s power when their abuse remains invisible in professional interventions are the unintended consequences of ignoring the gender dimension of work in this challenging field. The findings of this paper suggest that a gender lens may contribute to better practice in child protection and the greater likelihood that children will be protected and parents supported, each according to their need.","PeriodicalId":30337,"journal":{"name":"Irish Journal of Applied Social Studies","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2012-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"67742243","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
This article suggests that recent abuse reports and the Ryan Report in particular are now warning signs etched in the consciousness of social care workers. Quite rightly, this consciousness will determine how social care workers approach their work with children in the care system. In many care units the incessant, ostensibly plausible, demands of bureaucracy mean that children exist in an artificial, sanitised care bubble where they are bereft of structure, empathy, spontaneity and real relationships – the very things they crave. Written in a personal capacity and based on the author’s background practice experience, some of this article represents points of view rather than evidential conclusions. The article’s purpose is to contribute to debate, so necessary if lessons of the Ryan Report are really to be learned.
{"title":"The Ryan Report (2009). A Practitioner's Perspective on Implications for Residential Child Care","authors":"Noel Howard","doi":"10.21427/D7WF0R","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21427/D7WF0R","url":null,"abstract":"This article suggests that recent abuse reports and the Ryan Report in particular are now warning signs etched in the consciousness of social care workers. Quite rightly, this consciousness will determine how social care workers approach their work with children in the care system. In many care units the incessant, ostensibly plausible, demands of bureaucracy mean that children exist in an artificial, sanitised care bubble where they are bereft of structure, empathy, spontaneity and real relationships – the very things they crave. Written in a personal capacity and based on the author’s background practice experience, some of this article represents points of view rather than evidential conclusions. The article’s purpose is to contribute to debate, so necessary if lessons of the Ryan Report are really to be learned.","PeriodicalId":30337,"journal":{"name":"Irish Journal of Applied Social Studies","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2012-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"67751604","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Inquiries have played an important role in telling the stories of children abused and neglected in Ireland in situations of family abuse, clerical abuse and institutional abuse. The inquiries – associated with the name of the chairperson (Ryan) or by their geographical remit (Dublin, Ferns, Cloyne, Kilkenny and Roscommon) – serve to vindicate the rights of the children affected and to identify the failure of the authorities to protect children from harm. They also make numerous recommendations as to how children’s treatment can be improved. Although each inquiry had varying terms of reference, scope and status, together they address a wide range of issues of both specific and general significance to the issue of child protection. Focus is clearly placed on how child protection practice can be improved but many of the inquiries also comment on the legal framework and make recommendations for the reform of various aspects of child protection law and policy. This paper argues that the legal implications of these inquiries can be reduced to three overarching issues: the legislative provision for the mandatory reporting of child abuse; the need for robust and effective inspection mechanisms to ensure the protection of children, and the issue of constitutional law reform. The analysis shows that these measures are neither straightforward nor a panacea to the intractable problem of providing effective protection to children from abuse. However, taken with the other recommendations identified in the child abuse reports, they represent the beginning of a lasting legacy for the victims of abuse so tragically failed by their families, by the state and by society at large.
{"title":"Learning Lessons from the Past: Legal Issues Arising from Ireland's Child Abuse Reports","authors":"U. Kilkelly","doi":"10.21427/D74X61","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21427/D74X61","url":null,"abstract":"Inquiries have played an important role in telling the stories of children abused and neglected in Ireland in situations of family abuse, clerical abuse and institutional abuse. The inquiries – associated with the name of the chairperson (Ryan) or by their geographical remit (Dublin, Ferns, Cloyne, Kilkenny and Roscommon) – serve to vindicate the rights of the children affected and to identify the failure of the authorities to protect children from harm. They also make numerous recommendations as to how children’s treatment can be improved. Although each inquiry had varying terms of reference, scope and status, together they address a wide range of issues of both specific and general significance to the issue of child protection. Focus is clearly placed on how child protection practice can be improved but many of the inquiries also comment on the legal framework and make recommendations for the reform of various aspects of child protection law and policy. This paper argues that the legal implications of these inquiries can be reduced to three overarching issues: the legislative provision for the mandatory reporting of child abuse; the need for robust and effective inspection mechanisms to ensure the protection of children, and the issue of constitutional law reform. The analysis shows that these measures are neither straightforward nor a panacea to the intractable problem of providing effective protection to children from abuse. However, taken with the other recommendations identified in the child abuse reports, they represent the beginning of a lasting legacy for the victims of abuse so tragically failed by their families, by the state and by society at large.","PeriodicalId":30337,"journal":{"name":"Irish Journal of Applied Social Studies","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2012-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"68644106","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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