Frances Fitzgerald TD, Minister for Children & Youth Affairs, today launched “An Examination of Recommendations from Inquiries into Events in Families, their Interactions with State Services and their Impact on Policy and Practice” authored by Dr Helen Buckley & Dr Caroline O’Neill of the School of Social Work and Social Policy, at Trinity College Dublin.
The research was commissioned by the Department of Children and Youth Affairs as a result of the Ryan Report, and set out to examine the implementation of recommendations resulting from five Inquiries into child abuse in families between 1993 and 2010: the Kilkenny Incest Inquiry; Kelly Fitzgerald report; West of Ireland Farmer Case; the Monageer Inquiry and Roscommon Child Abuse Case. The research was also to look at what types of recommendations were most likely to improve children’s services and to identify key issues for policy and practice development
All of these reports were harrowing and all pointed to failings in protecting children.
At the launch, Minister Fitzgerald said that “Drs Buckley and O’Nolan have created an intellectual space for policy makers, advocacy organisations, regulators and those charged with service delivery to think about how to undertake case inquiries and what type of recommendations contribute to real and sustainable change”. The Minister welcomed the findings and urged all involved in the work of organisational and service review to use this report as a basis to examine how we go about our business.
The report found that the main recommendations had been implemented and said that due to organisational changes, it was difficult to track the progress of others. It highlighted the difficulties in making recommendations that can be generalised across organisations, and that stand up over time. The Minister welcomed the report’s proposal and said ‘the report makes a useful distinction between the independence of an inquiry findings, and the need for those making the recommendations and those who implement them to work together to ensure the recommendations fit the key learning with the organisation.’
The Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, stated her commitment to improving services for children and young people and stated “I am very pleased to see that many inquiry recommendations have acted as a mechanism for positive change. While it concerns me that the findings of this study has also revealed a type of ‘recommendation fatigue’ following the succession of inquiries, it is as important to note that this research report provides clear advice, based on international review and how to approach future reports.”
The Minister welcomed the recommendations of the report which, she said “put forward a more collaborative approach, ensuring that recommendations are informed by all relevant sources of information, knowledge and expertise and focuses on key learning points which may be disseminated within and across organisations”.
Speaking at the launch Dr. Buckley said ‘While the study has determined that inquiry recommendations, particularly those from the Kilkenny report, have acted as a mechanism for positive change, she added that ‘the findings of this study have revealed a type of ‘recommendation fatigue’ which has developed following the succession of inquiries. It could be inferred that a critical mass has now been reached and the benefits from inquiries have succumbed to the law of diminishing returns.’
An examination of recommendations from inquiries into events in families and their interactions with State services, and their impact on policy and practice