Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)

I commend my colleague, Deputy McConalogue, for bringing this legislation forward. I also wish the Minister every success in her office.

I had the privilege of being a substitute member of the Joint Committee on the Constitutional Amendment on Children in the last Dáil prior to my appointment as a Minister. It was a model of how committees should and can work.

It was adequately resourced and all parties had access to legal experience. The work done, under various chairs, was considerable. The material made available to us was superb. It is a pity that model cannot be adopted by other committees. I hope the Abbeylara referendum will deal with the issues that choke committees. I also hope the model of that committee will be used by other committees.

There was agreement on the committee about adoption and about the inadequacies in current adoption law. When the Constitution was drafted in the 1930s, adoption was probably not in the minds of those who framed it. The 1952 Act dealt with the adoption of children born outside marriage. As many speakers have said, society has moved on since then and situations have presented themselves to which the law has not responded or kept up with.

Deputy McConalogue's Bill is an attempt to bring the law up to date. The constant theme of our debate in the committee, and generally, is that there should be respect for the primacy of the family. That is still something we should hold within our Constitution, no matter that the format of family has moved on. The concept of the family is very different now from what it was in 1937. Like other European countries, we should retain a commitment to family values within our Constitution. The measure proposed by Deputy McConalogue respects that commitment. The work done over many years, including that done by the late Brian Lenihan, always respected that.

It is not only politicians who say our adoption laws are deficient. There is agreement within the Judiciary and among experts in the area that work needs to be done here. We have a perfect opportunity to show that the 31st Dáil treats children as a priority by holding a referendum in October, as was promised. On that day, technical referendums will be held on judges' pay and amendments relating to committees. It would make a statement that the Dáil can unite and takes the issue of children seriously if we agreed to hold a referendum on children's rights on that day.

The Chief Justice was clear when he wrote the foreword to Child Law by Geoffrey Shannon, who does so much good work in this area. The Chief Justice commented:

Domestic law in the area of child rights falls far short of our international obligations. Irish law is out of sync with European Convention jurisprudence and, in particular, the Constitution focuses on the nuclear marital family and does not countenance any other family forms outside of this.

When the Chief Justice, the first law officer of the State, feels free to say that, he presents us with a challenge to respond. Much work was done by previous committees to do that but it is now time the Oireachtas came together and filled in the gaps that exist.

I join colleagues on the other side of the House in paying tribute to the various agencies and lobbying organisations that have done so much work in this area. The last number of years saw the uncovering of unbelievable scandals, things we could not countenance, as a State or as people of the State. We left that work to be done by health care professionals and social workers. We left them to go into houses and come across scenes that none of us would like to see. They did so without fear or favour and at considerable personal and professional cost to themselves. As a Legislature, we must respond to the commitment they have shown in their work by introducing legislation such as that promoted by Deputy McConalogue.

Deputy Collins spoke about the statistics relating to care. It is a matter of concern that there has been a considerable spike in all these statistics during this year. This spike may indicate a greater awareness or the availability of more resources. Nevertheless, it shows that in spite of society's reaction to various child abuse cases, we still seem to have a serious problem. The figures from December 2005 to April of this year show a 26% increase in the number of children in care, from 4,800 to over 6,000. This presents legislators with a challenge to ensure that we respond quickly and efficiently to the messages and that those who are providing care have equal opportunities in terms of adoption and providing children with permanent care.

Geoffrey Shannon further proposed that children who have been in foster care for at least five years should not be returned to their natural parents without the consent of a court. This would bring us into line with policy in Northern Ireland, where if a child has been in the care of foster parents their prospective adopters' statutory rights are independent of their role as carers for a local authority. An all-island approach to this issue would make sense, within the constraints of different legal systems.

Everyone agrees that the welfare of the child is paramount. It is difficult, in the context of legal and constitutional jargon, to focus on the fact that we are dealing with children who are looking for security and the proper chances in life. We must ensure that we provide that framework for them.

The late Brian Lenihan did huge work during his term as Minister of State with responsibility for children and laid the groundwork for those who followed him, in legislation and in practical projects throughout the country. He stressed the importance of the Constitution. He said:

Time and again the people of Ireland have demonstrated their strong attachment to our Constitution. We should not underestimate the huge onus that rests on all of us who seek to strengthen the position of the child in that Constitution. The burden of persuasion in any referendum is a heavy one. It is all the greater when the proposal relates to the delicate and intimate relationship that exists between child, parent, family and State.

That is the balance we must reach in this Legislature as we tackle this issue.

I will conclude with one of Brian Lenihan's fine remarks in this area:

This is an enormous opportunity to make a difference for children. I firmly believe that the time has come to move beyond oratory, to ensure that the fundamental law of our land, the Constitution, properly reflects our commitment to value and to protect childhood.

There can be no greater honour to the memory of a great man than that we collectively agree to do that without further delay and to use what has been offered by Deputy McConalogue as a vehicle to do so.

See this speech in context