Dan Neville (Limerick West, Fine Gael)

It resulted in a consensus between Opposition and Government on a wording of a referendum. We endorsed a motion stating that Ireland needs a constitutional amendment to enshrine and enhance the protection of children's rights. The wording of the referendum was agreed after long and arduous deliberations, many hours of legal debate, much involvement by many legal people and a lot of expense to the State in regard to the work of the commission. The money was well spent if the referendum can be brought through at an early date to ensure the protection of children, as recommended by the committee.

According to Amnesty International, the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child is foremost in regard to many issues around the protection of children. This wording reflects one of our obligations under the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and recognises the primacy and importance of the family and the role of parents. The proposal ensures the rights of parents are protected, while ensuring that, where children are at risk, a proportionate intervention is permitted and facilitated under our Constitution, as amended under the referendum.

The current system of child protection is not working. At present, 5,600 children are in care. As was brought out in the debate, especially last night, tragically the State institutions have failed some children. In the case of too many, their lives ended prematurely.

I introduced a Private Members' Bill in 2000, the Children's Bill, which became the Children Act 2001. This was very good legislation but, unfortunately, it has been practically ignored in many of its best aspects because resources have not been put in place to ensure the broader protection of children and offer the opportunity to rehabilitate children and have them taken care of in a positive way by replicating, in some ways, the old institutions but in a modern proper way for children who are in difficulties or crisis. Unfortunately, resources have not been put in place to ensure that such children are dealt with as envisaged under the Act.

The fact remains that children's and adolescent psychiatric services account for merely 5% to 10% of spending in mental health services although they serve 22.7% of the total population, the percentage of the population who are children. This underinvestment has resulted in child and adolescent services which are sporadic or non-existent.

See this speech in context