Mary O'Rourke (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail)

Somebody told me to go to the bar but that would be very different to what we had been doing. The time used to fly by because our work was intense and consumed all our attention.

This report is leaving our hands, having been debated in the Seanad and now the Dáil. We have fulfilled our responsibility to report to both Houses of the Oireachtas. The report will now come before the members of the Cabinet, including the Taoiseach and the Attorney General, who is as omni-present, omni-wise and omni-cautious as one would expect. The Government would be in more difficult straits if that was not the case. There will never be a better opportunity for holding a referendum on a form of wording that has cross-party support and resonates with the people who deal with children in difficult circumstances. I advise the Government not to prevaricate or put the report on a shelf and cover it with a dust cloth until another eminent judge calls for a referendum on children.

An article in The Irish Times last week stated that the report is not a panacea but such was never our intention. The rights of and protection for children will never be addressed forever and a day just because we arrive at what we think is the correct wording. However, even though it is not a panacea, it nevertheless represents a way forward for children. Allowing the voice of children to be heard would be the most wonderful result we could hope for.

I ask Members' forgiveness for reverting to my days as a schoolteacher, when I taught Latin. It is terrible that nobody learns Latin anymore. I am reminded of the old adage by Horace, carpe diem, because the day should be seized. I fear that with all the pressing tribulations that Governments face, our proposals on the rights of the child will be allowed to slip. I am sure that the Minister of State, Deputy Barry Andrews, will keep it to the fore of the Cabinet's agenda. I advise the Government not to delay but to move as quickly as possible. I commend these reports to the House.

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