BISHOP'S CONCERNS:THE CATHOLIC Church's hierarchy declined to answer a series of questions about child protection practices in their dioceses, the Health Service Executive (HSE) confirmed yesterday.
The HSE issued a questionnaire on child sexual abuse to all dioceses in the Republic two years ago, but it went uncompleted.
The bishops cited legal difficulties with reporting "soft information" on abuse allegations to the health authority.
Section 5 of the questionnaire, issued in October 2006 as part of a HSE national audit, sought detailed information on complaints and allegations of child sexual abuse against members of the clergy.
It also sought to discover whether these allegations had or had not been brought to the attention of civil authorities.
The bishops responded that Section 5 "presented insurmountable difficulties" in relation to confidentiality and constitutional issues, as appropriate legislation was not in place.
The questionnaire asked bishops to state the number of religious who had left the diocese that were subject of allegations or suspicions of child sex abuse, and inquired what monitoring arrangements had been put in place for those who had been convicted.
It also sought to find out whether the bishops had consulted the HSE on treatment services which the diocese used for personnel when it was believed they had abused or posed a risk to children.
It also inquired what support services were in place for the victims of child sexual abuse.
The Dublin archdiocese was exempted from the questionnaire as it was already being investigated by the Dublin Archdiocese Commission of Investigation.
An update on the audit, contained in yesterday's report, which was sent by HSE chief executive Prof Brendan Drumm to then minister for children Brian Lenihan in May 2007, said that the majority of bishops had raised "identical concerns" about the content of the questionnaire.
"[The bishops] advised the Health Service Executive that, whilst they were anxious to co-operate fully, in the absence of the legislative measures anticipated by the Ferns Report, they were unable to do so in respect of Section 5 of the audit," Prof Drumm wrote.
The information sought in the questionnaire did not necessitate reference to individual members of the diocese by name.
"Whilst not explicitly saying so, the similarities in the bishops' individual correspondence implied that their stance was based on collective legal advice," Prof Drumm added.
"The Health Service Executive, following consultation with your own department, decided to advance completion of the audit with the exception of Section 5."
Minister for Children Barry Andrews said yesterday that "there was an obvious difficulty surrounding the provision of information by the bishops as sought under Section 5" of the national audit.
"The absence of this information significantly detracted from the value of the HSE audit," Mr Andrews said.
