Children First Act 2015 · Schedule 2

Mandated persons, and what they owe.

A legal duty that belongs to the individual rather than to the organisation — which is the part most often misunderstood, and the part that matters when it is tested.

The duty

It cannot be handed to somebody else.

Where a mandated person knows, believes, or has reasonable grounds to suspect that a child has been, is being, or is at risk of being harmed at or above the threshold in the Children First Act 2015, they are obliged to report it to Tusla.

That obligation is personal. The designated liaison person cannot discharge it for them, an organisation cannot absorb it into its own procedures, and no employer can instruct a mandated person not to report.

Know who they are

Maintaining the list of mandated persons is one of the procedures your safeguarding statement is expected to name.

Tell them

People are frequently mandated persons without ever having been told they are one.

Report jointly where possible

A joint report by the mandated person and the designated liaison person satisfies both duties and keeps the organisation informed.

Record it

What was known, when, and what was done. Written at the time.

Protection

Reporting in good faith.

The Protections for Persons Reporting Child Abuse Act 1998 gives immunity from civil liability to a person who reports in good faith and without malice, and protects an employee from being penalised for having reported.

People hesitate because they are afraid of being wrong. Being wrong, in good faith, is protected. Waiting until you are certain is the risk.

Answers

Questions we're asked most.

Who is a mandated person?

The classes of person listed in Schedule 2 of the Children First Act 2015. They include registered teachers, medical practitioners, nurses, social workers, psychologists, members of An Garda Síochána, youth workers, and certain others working in defined roles with children.

What is the threshold for a mandated report?

Harm at or above the level defined in the Children First Act 2015 — broadly, where a mandated person knows, believes, or has reasonable grounds to suspect that a child has been, is being, or is at risk of being harmed. Below that threshold a concern may still be reported as a reasonable concern by anybody.

Can our designated liaison person report on their behalf?

No. The obligation is personal to the mandated person and cannot be discharged by somebody else. In practice a mandated person and the designated liaison person often make a joint report, which satisfies both.

What if the mandated person disagrees with the designated liaison person?

The mandated person must still report. Their statutory duty is not conditional on the organisation agreeing with them, and an organisation cannot instruct them not to.

Do mandated persons have to report retrospective disclosures?

Where an adult discloses abuse that happened when they were a child, the obligation can still arise if a child may currently be at risk from the same person. This is one of the harder judgements in the Children First Act 2015 and it is worth taking advice on.

Are mandated persons protected if they report in good faith?

The Protections for Persons Reporting Child Abuse Act 1998 provides immunity from civil liability for a person who reports in good faith and without malice, and protects employees from penalisation for doing so.

Who you would be working with

Fifteen years leading Ireland's national child protection unit.

Senior Investigating Officer with An Garda Síochána, leading three national units: the National Child Protection Unit, the Sexual Crime Management Unit and the Online Child Exploitation Unit. Ireland's National Expert to Interpol and Europol on child safeguarding.

Safeguarding policy developed with Tusla, the HSE and three government departments. M.Sc. in Child Protection and Welfare, Trinity College Dublin. More about Michael

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