Report a Concern: Safeguarding Contacts & Legislation

Reporting:

Safeguarding Reporting Protocol:
Any safeguarding, poor practice, racism or discrimination concerns can be reported through an online form.
Safeguarding our young and vulnerable members is a priority for Triathlon Ireland.
We have introduced this system as we want to promote and support a positive, child centred culture in our sport. We want to support our clubs to be a safe and fun place for juniors and vulnerable members. We want our junior members to be consulted and involved in their club and we want to support our coaches to create great environments for children which protect both the child and the coach. This new reporting protocol will allow us to track trends in our clubs and put support and resources in place as required.

See FAQ document here with information about what and how to report.

Have a question or concern? See TI contacts below

Safeguarding Contact List

For more information, you can contact the following:

Niamh O’Gorman	Mandated Person National Children’s Officer. National Vetting Bureau Liaison Person.	Office Phone Number: (01)2741032 Mobile: +353 (87)3627106 Email: niamh@triathlonireland.com
Mary Crosbie	Safeguarding Adminstrator. National Vetting Bureau Liaison Person.	Office Phone Number: (01)2741032 Mobile: +353 (87)3793721 Email: mary@triathlonireland.com

Guiding Authority Information:

REPUBLIC OF IRELAND

SPORT IRELAND

Click here for Sport Ireland website.
Click here for the Safeguarding Guidance for Children and Young People in Sport document.
Click here for Sport Ireland ELearning Portal where you will find free courses on coaching children and Anti Doping.

Department OF CHILDREN & YOUTH AFFAIRS

Click here for the Dept. of Children and Youth Affairs website.
Click here for the Children First Act 2015.

TUSLA-Child and family agency.

Click here for Tusla website.
Click here to find more information on Children First and complete the free Elearning programme.
Click here to seek an informal consult with a social worker.
Click here for ‘How to report a concern’.

NORTHERN IRELAND

SPORT NORTHERN IRELAND

Click here for Sport NI website.

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH

Click here to read the ‘Co-operating to Safeguard Children and Young People in Northern Ireland’ document.

GATEWAY Services

Click here for further Gateway information.
Click here to report a concern. (9am-5pm).

National Society for the Protection of Cruelty to Children

Click here for the NSPCC website.
Click here for the Child Protection in Sport Unit website.
Click here to report a concern. (24 hours).

Legislation

Republic of Ireland

The key pieces of legislation in the Republic of Ireland which will affect sports Governing Bodies and therefore clubs:

1)T he Children First Act 2015. The legislation puts the Children First National Guidance 2011 on a statutory footing. It commenced in December 2017 and requires the following:

All governing bodies to appoint and train a Mandated Person who is responsible for reporting any allegations to the statutory bodies.
All clubs to appoint a Designated Liaison Person.
All those involved with juniors and vulnerable adults to be vetted and trained. Training in a sports context is Safeguard 1.
Governing bodies and clubs to prepare and keep updated a Safeguarding Risk Assessment.
Governing bodies and clubs to display a Child Safeguarding Statement.
Governing bodies to actively support all members to promote best practice in child welfare and protection.

2)The National Vetting Bureau (Childrens and Vulnerable Persons) Act 2012

The National Vetting Bureau (Children and Vulnerable Persons) Act 2012 commenced on the 29th of April 2016. This Act makes it mandatory for persons working with children or vulnerable adults to be vetted by the Gardaí prior to beginning their role. The Act also provides for the use of “soft” information in regard to vetting. This is information other than criminal convictions where such information leads to a bona-fide belief that a person poses a threat to children or vulnerable persons. Under the Act the Garda Central Vetting Unit will become the National Vetting Bureau and the vetting procedures will be put on a statutory basis.

Please see an information sheet on how this affects TI clubs and members here.

3)TheCriminal Justice (Withholding of Information on Offences against Children and Vulnerable Persons) Act, 2012 .

Section 176 of the Criminal Justice Act 2006 introduced the criminal charge of reckless endangerment of children. It states: ‘A person, having authority or control over a child or abuser, who intentionally or recklessly endangers a child by causing or permitting any child to be placed or left in a situation which creates a substantial risk to the child of being a victim of serious harm or sexual abuse, or – failing to take reasonable steps to protect a child from such a risk while knowing that the child is in such a situation, is guilty of an offence.’ The penalty for a person found guilty of this offence is a fine (no upper limit) and/or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 10 years.

4)The Protections for Persons Reporting Child Abuse Act 1998 makes provision for the protection from civil liability of persons who have communicated child abuse ‘reasonably and in good faith’ to Tusla or to any member of An Garda Síochána. This protection applies to organisations as well as to individuals. This means that even if a communicated suspicion of child abuse proves unfounded, a plaintiff who took an action would have to prove that the person who communicated the concern had not acted reasonably and in good faith in making the report.

5) Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Act 2006. Amendments to this Act made in 2017 prohibit a sexual relationship between a coach (any other person who is or has been responsible for the education, supervision, training, care or welfare of the child) and an athlete under 18.

Offence by person in authority

The Act of 2006 is amended by the insertion of the following section after section 3:

“3A. (1) A person in authority who engages in a sexual act with a child who has attained the age of 17 years but is under the age of 18 years shall be guilty of an offence.

Northern Ireland