The Catholic Church's National Board for Child Protection has appointed a member of the Church of Ireland, Ian Elliott, as its first chief executive.
The board has responsibility for monitoring the implementation of child protection measures within the Catholic Church and its agencies on the island of Ireland. It is chaired by Mr Justice Anthony Hederman, a former judge of the Supreme Court.
Mr Elliott is director of the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC) in Belfast and has been on secondment to the Department of Social Services in Northern Ireland since 2005, where he led major reforms in child protection services. He will take up his new post on July 1st.
From Dublin, he attended school at St Andrew's College before going to TCD, where he secured an economics and philosophy degree. In 1976 he took an MSc in applied social studies at the University of Ulster and an Open University MBA in 1995.
In 1976 he qualified as a social worker and acquired a certificate in advanced social work in 1983. He worked with the Northern Ireland Health and Social Services Board from 1974 to 1985, when he began with the NSPCC.
His published papers include Management of Child Protection Concerns in Schools, in the North's Child Care Journal; Keeping Children Safe and the Internet, a joint paper presented to the European Parliament; and The Vermont Model - An Examination of Child Protection Systems in the State of Vermont.
Mr Justice Hederman said the board was confident Mr Elliott's combination of energy, commitment, professional expertise and experience would greatly strengthen the church's capacity in the area of child protection.
Mr Elliott said he saw his role as one of "helping the church to move beyond apology". He continued: "Mistakes are tragic when not learned from, and it is imperative that - in future - we don't put the rights of anyone above the rights of the child."
Bishop Colm O'Reilly, who chairs the One Church Committee on Child Protection, said: "The church is extremely pleased to have secured a person of Ian's proven integrity, expertise and stature to head up this most important role at this moment in the church's history."
