Safeguarding Roles
Bisop of Ossory
To be responsible for all safeguarding practices by:
- Ensuring that the appropriate child safeguarding structures and personnel are in place;
- Liaising with the Holy See, as appropriate. If the Church body is a religious order or congregation, this is done through the superior general;
- Ensuring compliance with canon and civil law;
- Upholding the seven standards in practice and behaviour.
Director of Safeguarding
To be responsible for coordination of all safeguarding practices by:
- Directing and implementing the child safeguarding policy;
- Liaising with and supporting parishes and communities to ensure implementation of local policies and procedures;
- Liaising with the child safeguarding committee and the advisory panel;
- Ensuring that all child safeguarding personnel are kept up to date with practice, as communicated from the NBSCCCI;
- Reporting directly to the Church authority on all child safeguarding issues.
Role of Designated Liaison Person (DLP)
To promote safeguarding by:
- Hearing child safeguarding concerns;
- Passing on child safeguarding concerns to the statutory authorities;
- Managing cases and all associated documents;
- Liaising with the support person, advisor and the Church authority;
- Passing on child safeguarding concerns to the NBSCCCI;
- Conducting internal inquiries;
- Contributing to upholding the seven standards in practice and behaviour;
- Completing an annual report regarding compliance with Standards 2, 3 and 4 for the Church authority;
- Monitoring respondents or, with the Church authority, appointing a suitable person to carry out this role.
Safeguarding Committee
The role of the Safeguarding Committee is to promote child safeguarding by:
- Developing a three-year child safeguarding plan, including the establishment of the local child safeguarding policy and procedures;
- Coordinating local safeguarding representatives (LSRs);
- Coordinating activities related to child safeguarding, e.g. training;
- Ensuring the annual audit, including the correlation of records for training-related activities;
- Ensuring the completion of training needs assessments across the various child safeguarding roles in the Church body;
- Ensuring, with the Church authority, that the appropriate child safeguarding personnel are in place;
- Upholding the seven standards in practice and behaviour.
The members of the Safeguarding Committee are responsible for the ongoing development and implementation of best practice procedures and policy in every parish.
The Committee were responsible for developing and launching the Safeguarding Children parish Handbook which was launched 6th June 2018. This document can be accessed from our documents section
All members of the committee have received training in child protection.
Safeguarding trainers
To promote child safeguarding by:
- Working with the safeguarding committee to identify training needs;
- Delivering full-day and information-session safeguarding training to those identified by the safeguarding committee in the Church body;
- Keeping records of all of those who have been trained;
- Contributing to upholding the seven standards in practice and behaviour.
Parish Safeguarding Representatives
Parish Safeguarding Representative Brochure may be downloaded here.
Summary of Role:
- Raising awareness of what child safeguarding is;
- Disseminating information regarding the standards and guidance, and circulating this information widely;
- Ensuring Church activities are provided in a way that ensures the safety and well-being of the children involved;
- Ensuring that the contact details of the DLP, GardaĂ and Tulsa are widely publicised;
- Upholding the seven standards in practice and behaviour
Throughout the Diocese of Ossory, there are over 80 local Safeguarding Representatives. In addition to the above role, the PSR is there to support and encourage local parish initiatives and offer guidance to new set up groups.
Role of Mandated Persons (download here)
Other Safeguarding Roles (download here)
