Guidance for Dealing with & Reporting Allegations or Concerns of Abuse

The newly published Guidance for Dealing with & Reporting Allegations and Concerns of Abuse, which applies to all of our Gaelic Games Associations, was launched at the GAA Annual congress and it is a much-welcomed publication. It is an All-Ireland document in that the guidance given applies equally to both the jurisdiction covered by Tusla and by the HSC Gateway teams.

The aim of this publication is to provide us all with a guidance document to deal with allegations or concerns of abuse as made known to us and to advise and direct us on how we may without any undue delay report such matters to the relevant statutory authorities.

The publication is now available online at https://www.gaa.ie/api/pdfs/image/upload/n5hsvzyl3eb5kbrfbyfe.pdf

and it is a must read and a reference booklet for Designated Liaison Persons (DLP) and for Children’s Officers.

The Guidance is packed with very useful information including:

– the role of the DLP, such as the role of the DLP

– our statutory obligations in all jurisdictions

– our Policy & Practice in recording and reporting

– child safeguarding structures in independent, amalgamated or combined teams

– clear direction on how to specifically deal with allegations/concerns, how to impose a debarment and how to report without delay to the relevant statutory authority and to the Association’s National DLP

– contact details for both Tusla and Gateway Teams

The Guidance for Dealing with & Reporting Allegations and Concerns of Abuse should be downloaded and placed on every Club and County website for members and parents to read.

Safeguarding Tutors Listing

Please see the link below for list of tutors who deliver the Gaelic Games Child Safeguarding Workshops SG1, SG2 and SG3

https://www.gaa.ie/the-gaa/child-safeguarding-and-protection/child-welfare-trainers

Please click here for Safeguarding training policy

Female Liaison Officers

A female liaison officer (FLO) is the female official required to be part of every management team. The FLO will act as a liaison between the players and the management team and with the club  board. The FLO should not be part of the selection process of teams where possible so to remain neutral.

As per Rule 307 of the LGFA Official Guide all teams must have a female liaison officer in place.

A team shall consist of 15 players and a panel of 30 players. Teams are allowed a maximum of 10 officials at Inter-County level and 7 officials at club level, one of whom must be a female liaison officer.

A role description for the Club Female Liaison Officer is available below

Club Female Liaison Officer Role Description

To help you in your role as club female liaison officer we have devised a self-led training module which is available on the GAA eLearning platform. Details on how to access this are on the poster below or go direct to https://learning.gaa.ie/LGFAFLO

 

Dealing with Bullying in Your Club

Introducing Be Internet Legends

Be Internet Legends is an online safety programme created by Google, to help children be safer and more confident explorers in the digital world.

The Gaelic Games Safeguarding Committee has partnered with Google, to address bullying & online safety programme, by launching Google’s Be Internet Legends programme through our Gaelic Games clubs in Ireland and Britain. Together we’ve developed activities and resources designed to be used within your club, but focusing on helping children develop these important skills and behaviours in an online context. The programme mirrors the Give Respect – Get Respect initiative which promotes respecting fellow players, coaches, referees, opponents and officials; playing fair; treating others equally; setting an example; and creating an environment where children feel confident and comfortable to talk to a coach or adult if they have a concern.

These activities can be used during training sessions or can take part at home too.

For further information and resources please see https://learning.gaa.ie/BeInternetLegends

Tackling Bullying Programme

The GAA/LGFA/Camogie/Handball/Rounders became the country’s first sporting organisations to launch a national anti-bullying campaign with the unveiling of the Tackling Bullying Programme in March 2013.

GAA Tackling Bullying is a new training resource that the GAA developed in response to a growing awareness of the impact of bullying in society and particularly in sport.

The programme consists of a two-hour training workshop suitable for Coaches, Parents, Players and other Club personnel and also includes a range of publicity materials for Clubs.

The two-hour programme may be run in tandem and complimentary to any other educational and or community anti-bullying initiatives and is suitable for delivery at both adult and under age levels.

In recognition of the serious difficulties that bullying presents in sports organisations, this resource will be presented by the GAA to the Irish Sports Council so as to enable them facilitate other sports organisations who may wish to see the programme delivered in their own sports organisations.

For further information on the GAA Tackling Bullying Programme, please contact the National Children’s Office by emailing nationalchildrensoffice@gaa.ie or by phone (01) 8658600.