Jillian van Turnhout (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I know but I have the special rapporteur in front of me and given the forthcoming legislation on children and families, I would like to make sure that I understand what was meant by that comment because I believe it has been repeatedly misrepresented.

My final point relates to the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child. Ireland will be before this committee within the next 12 months. The NGOs will be before the committee in early summer. I am conscious that we are awaiting a Supreme Court decision on the Thirty-first Amendment of the Constitution, which will bring in some of the language of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. I am also very conscious that Dr. Shannon's reports were begun during the last periodic review of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child so he has had that period to consider matters since our last hearing. What has our progress been like over those seven years? On what issues do we need to get our house in order before Ireland's appearance before the committee?