Press release
Strengthening Ireland’s Interagency Response to Child Sex Abuse
From Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth
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Last updated on
From Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth
Published on
Last updated on
Joint European Union-Council of Europe conference on Supporting the Implementation of the Barnahus project in Ireland.
Experts and stakeholders gathered in Dublin today for the final Conference of the Joint European Union-Council of Europe project on “Support the Implementation of the Barnahus project in Ireland”.
Barnahus is an interdepartmental and multiagency approach that brings together all relevant services under one roof to provide child survivors of sexual abuse with a coordinated and effective response.
It aims to bring together child protection, policing, medical, therapeutic and forensic services in an integrated service for children who experience sexual abuse and their non-offending family members and prevent further re-traumatisation.
Secretary General of the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, Kevin McCarthy spoke about the importance of national implementation of Barnahus in strengthening Ireland’s interagency response to child sex abuse, in line with the Council of Europe Convention on the Protection of Children against Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Abuse (Lanzarote Convention).
He highlighted the importance of the expertise and guidance from the Council of Europe in progressing the 30-month project, facilitated through the European Commission’s Technical Support Instrument Fund.
The Icelandic Barnahus model is seen as international best practice and is being adapted to an Irish context by the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth together with the Department of Health, Department of Justice, Tusla, An Garda Síochána, the HSE and Children’s Health Ireland.
All of the stakeholder departments and agencies are co-ordinating a child centred response to sexual abuse allegations and developing an appropriate governance framework for a multiagency service.
Matthew McVarish, Brave Movement Representative to the Council of Europe’s Lanzarote Convention, was the keynote speaker at the event. The Brave Movement is a survivor-centred global movement campaigning for the right of all children and adolescents to live a life in safety and dignity, free from sexual violence.
The joint project sought to address the challenges faced during the implementation of the Barnahus centre in the West and to facilitate the roll out of two additional Barnahus centres in the South and East.
A pilot service in Galway project was launched in September 2019. Since January 2022 services in Galway are now fully operational in a bespoke centre on the outskirts of Galway city, which allows relevant agencies to provide services for children under one roof. Barnahus South became fully operational in May 2024 in a temporary location until a dedicated space is completed. There is a third location planned in the East which will complete national coverage. Development of these services is already underway.
The Final Conference allowed participants to discuss the key achievements of the project, including a Strategy and Action Plan to scale up Barnahus in Ireland and the development of training materials on trauma-informed care.
The Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth leads on the national implementation of the Barnahus model and has been awarded financial and technical support from the EU and the Council of Europe under the Technical Support Instrument, to help expand the Barnahus model in Ireland.
This project seeks to support the expansion of the Barnahus model of services, adapted to an Irish context.
The need to improve services in Ireland for children who experience sexual abuse has been highlighted in several key reports examining state responses to CSA, including the Ferns Report (2005), the Ryan Report (2009), and the Mott McDonald Report (2011).
Following a report from HIQA (Health Information and Quality Authority) on the management by Tusla – The Child and Family Agency, and Expert Assurance Group (EAG) was established in August 2018. The EAG published a final report in September 2019 which identified Barnahus as a key recommendation into the management of allegations of child sexual abuse against adults of concern.
The Icelandic Barnahus model was first launched in Europe in 1998 and was recognised as a promising practice in 2015 by the Council of Europe’s Committee of the Parties to the Lanzarote Convention. The Council of Europe has been supporting its member states in adapting and using the model since then and a strong network for research, training and best practice guidance is available to countries implementing the model.
This project is co-funded by the European Union through the Technical Support Instrument Fund and implemented by the Council of Europe. More information about the project is available on the project’s website: Support the implementation of the Barnahus project in Ireland - Children's Rights (coe.int).