Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)

This issue has been discussed for a long time. A referendum was first promised by a former Taoiseach on 3 November 2006 at the Fianna Fáil Ard-Fheis; therefore, there were five years during which Fianna Fáil could have brought it forward. The Government recently endorsed the holding of the referendum on a stand-alone basis during the course of 2012. The precise timing depends on a number of factors - there are other referendums to be considered and as such, the Cabinet has not made a decision on the precise timing of the referendum. The Taoiseach spoke about various items of legislation, the building blocks for the referendum that must be in place, including the Children First legislation, on which a lot of work has been done, and the adoption legislation. When I entered office, I found work had not been done on that legislation. I want to ensure it is available when the issue is put to the people in a referendum, as it is important the people understand precisely the implications of what they are supporting. Equally, the withholding of information and vetting legislation are building blocks in the architecture of child protection measures and important steps as we move towards holding the referendum. It is important the public understands the current laws for children and how they will be changed after a constitutional referendum.

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