Ciara Conway (Waterford, Labour)

I welcome the opportunity to speak on this important matter. As someone who has worked in the area of child protection, I am only too aware of the need for a greater emphasis on the rights of children within the Constitution, particularly in respect of the types of family recognised by Bunreacht na hÉireann. I am a lone parent and am unrecognised in the Constitution. Improvement is required in this area to bring Ireland up to date with best practice internationally - everybody is only too well aware of this - and to protect the most vulnerable members of society and our future.

The changes being considered by the Joint Committee on the Constitutional Amendment on Children contain many important elements, including giving children a chance to air their views on adoption. It is frightening to believe we have come this far without enshrining this as a right officially.

As early as 1996, the Constitution Review Group pointed out that the Constitution needed to be worked on if the State were to measure up to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. Two years later, a UN committee pointed out that "Ireland's approach to the rights of children appears to be somewhat fragmented". Deputy McConalogue might argue Fianna Fáil's approach to the rights of children is still somewhat fragmented. This is because it is putting one aspect of a very important, complex area into the spotlight without considering the wider context.

Everybody agrees the issues surrounding adoption need to be addressed. The issue does not exist in isolation but is part of a wider, complex and very sensitive area, yet we have had a brazen example of Fianna Fáil wading in and proposing a quick build because it looks good on the surface, much like some of the ill-thought out apartment complexes its builder friends were so fond of throwing up in the Celtic tiger era.

What exactly did Fianna Fáil do for children during its tenure in government, or during the Celtic tiger era? As my colleague the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, Deputy Frances Fitzgerald, rightly pointed out yesterday, this is an issue that the Fianna Fáil-led Government failed to put to the people for 14 years. It has a cheek to come into the House and cut and paste in regard to the issue.

Deputy McConalogue has accused the Government of doing a U-turn by not putting the referendum on children's rights to the people on the day of the presidential election. I, for one, am delighted the decision was taken not to hold the two referenda on the same day. This shows the Government shows a deep understanding of the issue and recognises it is an area that needs work. We in the Labour Party-Fine Gael coalition believe the wider issues deserve space to be debated properly in the public arena so people will have an understanding of what is at stake. The Government is fully committed to strengthening children's rights and it will have a referendum on this subject next year. While it is fine by me that Deputy McConalogue wants to criticise the Government for taking time to think about an issue and ensure people are aware of the facts, I am glad to belong to a group that believes children's rights comprise an important issue that deserves time.

Many candidates are putting themselves forward to be President. It is only natural, therefore, that the media will concentrate on personalities and would not give sufficient time to the referendum on children, which is so important. It seems Fianna Fáil may not be interested in the presidential election given that it has nobody to fly the flag for it. This is understandable, I suppose. Perhaps it will consider backing an affiliated candidate, if possible, to vote by telephoning or texting a premium line. Deputy McConalogue should note this is not how our democracy works.

I commend Fianna Fáil for attempting in this debate to highlight one key area that needs to be tackled. However, dealing with the issue in conjunction with the presidential race would be heavy-handed and ill-considered. We should not support this fragmented Bill by Fianna Fáil as it addresses only one part of a wide-ranging problem that needs to be tackled. Let us give the Joint Committee on the Constitutional Amendment on Children space to put the final touches to the wording to help protect our future and that of future generations.

The people will have the chance to have their say on this important issue. Let us ensure they have the space to consider it. Allow me to be so bold as to coin a phrase: "Think of the children."

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