Barnardo's Northern Ireland, the Irish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (ISPCC), Barnardo's Ireland and the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children Northern Ireland made the call last week at a child protection conference in Dundalk called 'Beyond Borders'. The charities said there needed to be more co-operation on child protection issues between the two governments and called for health authorities, the education sector and police to find a common approach to child protection systems.
Paul Gilligan, ISPCC chief executive, said, 'The border is not a barrier but a bonus for people who want to harm children. We are concerned about the management of sex offenders and are calling for more co-ordination and improvements in their management.'
He added, 'We want to see the issue of child protection high up the political agenda and we believe it merits a higher profile on the north-south ministerial council. We are also calling for new cross-border arrangements, with representation from both the statutory and voluntary sectors, to take forward and develop areas of mutual co-operation.'
Lynda Wilson, director of children's services for Barnardo's Northern Ireland, said there were a number of anomalies in the vetting systems of adults working with children on both sides of the border and there needed to be consistency in their vetting and employment because 'varying systems of child protection between North and South creates dangerous loopholes for dangerous people'.
