Child Safeguarding Statement

The Irish Cancer Society (ICS) believes that the welfare and safety of every child and young person attending our services is of paramount importance. Our guiding principles and this Child Safeguarding policy is based on a legal framework provided primarily by the Child Care Act 1991, the Children First Act, 2015 and Children First National Guidance 2017) and Child Safeguarding: A Guide for Policy, Procedure and Practice, 2017.  

• Irish Cancer Society (ICS) Support line;    
• Children’s Health Ireland at Crumlin Hospital in-patient, outpatient and day care settings where a member of ICS staff/volunteers/contractors is present;  
• Daffodil Centres are located in 13 hospitals nationwide. ICS cancer nurses and trained volunteer staff work in these centres.  
• ICS funded a virtual and face-to-face counselling service for children and young people delivered by independent third parties.  
• ICS community hubs and services and supports for children and young people provided by third parties;  
• ICS nurses carry out Night nursing care for children and young people.  
• Transport service from home to hospital for children, young people and parents where an ICS volunteer is present.

• The safety and welfare of children is everyone’s responsibility.   
• Our priority is to ensure that every child's welfare and safety are paramount under our care.  
• Our Guiding Principles and procedures to safeguard children reflect national policy and legislation and are underpinned by Children First: National Guidance for the Protection and Welfare of Children, Tusla’s Child Safeguarding: A Guide for Policy, Procedure and Practice, the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child and current legislation such as the Children First Act 2015, Child Care Act 1991, Protections for Persons Reporting Child Abuse Act 1998 and the National Vetting Bureau Act 2012;   
• Our Guiding Principles apply to all paid staff, the CEO, committee/Board members, volunteers, carers and students on work placement within our organisation.   
• We are committed to upholding the rights of every child under the care of our services, including the rights to be treated with respect, kept safe and protected from harm, listened to and have their views taken into consideration;   
• We are committed to respecting and promoting the principles of equality and diversity and to working with all children in a culturally sensitive way within the context of the Irish constitution and law and the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.  
• We will review our Guiding Principles and Child Safeguarding procedures every two years or sooner if necessary due to service issues, changes in legislation, or national policy.  

We have completed a Safeguarding Risk Assessment that indicates the areas of potential risk of harm, the likelihood of risk occurring, and outlines mitigations or actions required to reduce these risks. Risk assessments are treated as live documents that are maintained and monitored as necessary and appropriate. Queries regarding the Child Safeguarding Risk Assessment carried out at ICS to develop this Child Safeguarding Statement should be directed to the DLP, who is available for inspection on request.  

Our Child Safeguarding statement is in line with requirements under the Children First Act 2015, the Children First: National Guidance 2017, and Tusla’s Child Safeguarding: A guide for Policy, Procedure and Practice. In addition to the procedures listed in our risk assessment, our Child Safeguarding policy and Employee Handbook support our intention to safeguard children while they are availing of our service.

The ICS recognise that the implementation of the safeguarding policy is an ongoing process. The ICS is committed to the implementation of this Child Safeguarding Statement and the procedures that support our intention to keep children safe from harm while availing of our services. Training and testing of adherence to the policy will also be part of the implementation. The DLP will ensure that this policy, and Child Safeguarding Statement, will be reviewed at least every 2 years or as soon as practicable or as soon as practicable after there has been a material change in any matter to which the statement refers. 

The Designated Liaison Person is Claire McCall, CAYA Cancer Nurse Coordinator

• Contact details: cmccall@irishcancer.ie

The Deputy Designated Liaison Person is Mary Quinn, Volunteer Manager.   

• Contact details: mquinn@irishcancer.ie 
• The Child Safeguarding group: childsafeguarding@irishcancer.ie 

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