Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)

I begin by extending my deepest sympathy and that of my party to the family of Daniel McAnaspie. The family endured a terrible ordeal during the weeks Daniel was missing and has now been visited by the worst ordeal of all as they prepare to lay to rest this boy whose life was destroyed before he had the opportunity to begin that life. We will never know the terrible ordeal suffered by Daniel. What we do know is that he fell into the hands of murderers when he was supposed to be in the care of the State.

Daniel McAnaspie was under the care of the Health Service Executive. His death brings to 24 the official number of children in State care who have died in recent years. It is impossible to say how many of these deaths were avoidable had the State cared better for the children under its direct responsibility. We need to know as much as possible about every such tragedy. Therefore, the reports on each should be published so that the facts can be made clear, lessons can be learned and the systems and practises can be put in place to try to prevent any more avoidable tragedies.

I support of the call of the McAnaspie family for a public inquiry. The Garda Síochána must pursue Daniel McAnaspie's murderers with determination. I urge anyone with information to bring it to the Garda without delay. Parallel with this must be a full and public investigation of how the State and all its agencies dealt with Daniel, the results of which must be published in full. The death of Daniel McAnaspie overshadows and adds poignancy to this debate this evening on the rights of children in the Constitution. It reminds us that this is not an abstract debate of interest only to legislators and lawyers; it is a life and death issue today. It is about the protection of children in Ireland today, tomorrow and into the future. That protection and their rights need to be fully vindicated in the Constitution, in legislation and in the provision of services.

It should not have been necessary to bring forward this Private Members' motion at this time. Sinn Féin and the Labour Party have done so out of concern at the failure of the Government to give a firm commitment to hold a referendum to strengthen the rights of children in the Constitution. We have in recent weeks repeatedly asked the Taoiseach and Tánaiste if and when a referendum Bill will be published; if and when the Government will agree the wording of the amendment and if and when the Cabinet will fully discuss the matter? Their answers have been evasive and minimalist and give rise to concern that this vital issue is being sidelined for reasons of political expediency.

I regret to say that the self-congratulatory amendment tabled by the Government only adds to our serious concern. Incredibly, it recognises the work of the Government in the first and second interim reports of the Joint Oireachtas Committee on the Constitutional Amendment on Children, which committee was an all-party committee that reached all-party agreement on a range of difficult and complex issues, including the referendum wording. The Government amendment was either hastily and sloppily drafted or is a calculated snub to the other party representatives on the committee. Either way it is a bad piece of work. This is underscored by the fact that the Government has been forced to substitute the original wording by now congratulating itself on its progress in implementing the recommendations in the first and second reports. The changed wording is just as incredible as was the first because we have yet to even see sight of the proposed legislation to give effect to the recommendations in the first report of the committee.

The final report of the Joint Oireachtas Committee on the Constitutional Amendment on Children was published and given to Government in February, some three months ago. There has been more than enough time for the Government to consult with all the relevant Departments and Attorney General and to bring forward a Bill to hold a constitutional referendum on this matter. All that is lacking is the political will from Government to do so. The parties represented on the Joint Oireachtas Committee on the Constitutional Amendment on Children came to a consensus on the wording after 62 long and often difficult meetings. The Government has on repeated occasions acknowledged the need for a referendum. This Private Members' business is not about why we need a referendum. The Members of the Dáil have discussed this on many occasions and have all accepted this. This debate is about why this referendum needs to be held as a matter of urgency, which is clearly the gulf between Government and the Opposition Members tabling this motion this evening. This is in our opinion a matter of urgency.

The onus is now on the Government to publish without delay a Bill to provide for the necessary constitutional amendment Bill and to set the date for the holding of this referendum in 2010. This Private Members' motion is timely following the publication by Ms Emily Logan, the Ombudsman for Children, of the report on the implementation of the Children First guidelines, a source of serious concern. The Ombudsman for Children identified major gaps in the implementation of the Children First guidelines which are in theory designed to help protect children by ensuring vigilance and competence on the part of the State bodies, including the Department of Health and Children, the Health Service Executive and Garda Síochána. It is clear from the report of the Ombudsman for Children that since its establishment in 2005 the HSE has failed to make sufficient efforts to drive forward the implementation of Children First. The most basic of child protection procedures have not been adhered to. For example, the HSE has completely failed to ensure, across the HSE, consistent definitions of abuse and has failed to provide clarity and consistency regarding the reporting of child abuse concerns.

The Office of the Minister of State with responsibility for children and youth affairs is found by the Ombudsman for Children to have played down the impact on implementation of Children First of ongoing industrial relations problems. This is a serious charge that the Minister and trade unions need to address. It is clear that Government cannot afford to put off this matter any longer. The legislation and current legal framework does not adequately protect children. Many Members on the Government side have acknowledged this and so questions such as why we are still waiting for a referendum Bill to be published must be asked.

The HSE is rife with problems in regard to how it manages children in its care. We recently learned that lying on shelves in the HSE are 20 reports on the deaths of children in State care which are awaiting publication. No valid excuse has been given by the HSE for the delay. These should have been forwarded to the Ombudsman for Children, the Health Information and Quality Authority and the Garda Síochána. It is possible that some people involved were criminally negligent in carrying out their duties to the children in their care. I would not be surprised, were we ever to see sight of the content of these reports, if the Garda did not believe there were grounds for investigation in regard to at least one of them.

The State has failed in its obligations to its children. This is a long-term problem that is evident in the systemic failure testified in the Ryan report and in other inquiries into residential care institutions throughout the years, as well as in more recent damning reports that have scandalised residential centres, such as the Ballydowd centre in west Dublin, which was closed on foot of a Health Information and Quality Authority report, after having had €13 million put into it by the State.

There is a systemic failure in the child protection sector. Children are placed in inappropriate accommodation and are fostered out with no sign of a social worker for years on end. In some cases, children are exported to residential centres overseas at the cost of millions because the State refuses to invest in the facilities necessary to treat children who have severe behavioural difficulties or who have suffered major trauma or abuse in their lives. This constitutes a further example of the State washing its hands. It once did so in respect of the religious institutions and now it is in respect of every other mess into which the State can place children for whom it is not prepared to provide the necessary supports, resources, backup or care. This is a damning indictment of successive governments and such practices must end this year. How many times have Members asked about the position regarding the vetting of those who work with children? While a national vetting Bill and a new criminal justice (sexual offences) Bill have been promised, there is no sign of either. Moreover, there are insufficient social workers, other front-line workers and support systems. Children are left in grave danger. Cutbacks and under-resourcing have meant there are insufficient staff members to cover the number of children they must protect.

The Minister of State with responsibility for children has given no adequate explanation as to the reason the next State report on the Government's progress in implementing the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child is now a year late. This simply is another example of tardiness with regard to children's rights and another reason this referendum must be held as a matter of urgency. The Minister for Health and Children, Deputy Harney, who has the ultimate responsibility and who of course once again is absent, and the Minister of State with responsibility for children, Deputy Barry Andrews, who has direct responsibility, have never explained in detail the reason children so often have been and continue to be let down by the State. The Taoiseach has not told Members the reason that even though the final report of the Oireachtas Joint Committee on the Constitutional Amendment on Children has been laid before the Dáil, the Government has not published a constitutional amendment Bill, although he has been pressed on this matter repeatedly in recent weeks.

The absence of legislation to place the Children First guidelines on a statutory footing continues to leave children vulnerable to abuse and neglect. This point has been upheld by the recent reports from the Ombudsman for Children, Ms Emily Logan, and the special rapporteur on children's rights, Mr. Geoffrey Shannon. Holding a referendum will not on its own be the complete answer for children's rights on this island. As I noted earlier, the Children First guidelines must be placed on a statutory footing and child protection services must be resourced, in addition to adequate provision of resources in the education and health systems.

The lack of robust constitutional rights for children has left a position in which successive Governments have been able to wash their hands of their responsibilities. The existing legislation in place is not enough to hold the Government to account. There is no general obligation to carry out child proofing of laws concerning children and nor is there a requirement on the Government to ensure there are adequate administrative and political structures or laws and policies to uphold children's rights. This referendum is needed this year both because children deserve to have their rights as individuals acknowledged and because governments cannot be trusted to uphold children's rights without a stronger constitutional obligation.

Enshrining children's rights in the Constitution will not be the magical cure for the ills of the child protection system but it will put a great deal of pressure on the Government and on all State agencies to honour their commitments and obligations to the children of Ireland. Consequently, together with my colleagues on the Sinn Féin benches, with the Labour Party Members and with Deputy Howlin, who also was a member of the Joint Committee on the Constitutional Amendment on Children, I call on the Minister of State to withdraw his amendment or to confirm that the Government will hold this referendum this year. The Minister of State should either withdraw his amendment and accept the motion tabled by Sinn Féin and the Labour Party or should make it crystal clear for all to understand that the Government will proceed with the referendum on children's rights in the year 2010.

This is what Members have been asking for all along. There are no other side issues or distractions. It is critically focused, and places children first and foremost in one's concerns. Moreover, Members' bona fides in this regard are as long and well-established as are those of the Minister of State and his predecessors as Ministers of State with responsibility for children in their respective roles and contributions to the long deliberations of the Joint Committee on the Constitutional Amendment on Children, which was chaired by the former Minister, Deputy O'Rourke. I call on the Minister of State to not disappoint the House and to not disappoint the many people who are anxious and concerned to have clarity on the Government's intent this evening.

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