Trevor Sargent (Dublin North, Green Party)

I am surprised to hear the Taoiseach say there will be no referendum given that the Minister for Foreign Affairs has made a case for one. The Children's Rights Alliance says we need a referendum on enshrining the rights of children in the Constitution. It appeared before the United Nations with a report, From Rhetoric To Rights. While there may not be a referendum in the lifetime of this Government, does the Taoiseach recognise the need for a referendum to enshrine the rights of children in the Constitution? Does he see that as part of a response to the 250 children who have gone missing from a Health Service Executive funded residential centre in Dublin and to the growing suspicion of trafficking in children? Is the Taoiseach amenable to such a referendum as proposed by the Children's Rights Alliance?

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