Aodhán Ó Ríordáin (Dublin North Central, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I am pleased to have the opportunity to speak on this matter because I believe it to be of particular importance. I passionately believe that we as legislators have an obligation to protect that precious place that is childhood. In the past we failed collectively as a society. Now is our chance to rectify that and stand united in this effort.

I acknowledge the work of the late Ms Mary Rafferty who, in 1999, brought to our screens the horror of what so many of our children went through in industrial schools. Her programme, "States of Fear", led to widespread horror at the depth of abuse, both physical and emotional, that some of our citizens were put through. Last year, I had the honour of presenting Ms Christine Buckley, one such survivor of this abuse, with the Labour Party's Evelyn Owens award. Mary Rafferty's follow-up programme in 2002, "Cardinal Secrets", then documented how those in leadership roles failed to investigate or deal with complaints of abuse. However, what is equally distressing is how it also detailed the then political establishment's failure to protect those in the State's care.

Let us never be found guilty of such failings again. Let us work together in protecting children. Many issues will divide us in this House but this is not one of them. I include in that reference the children currently housed in direct provision centres as their parents await decisions on asylum applications. They too need protection and I hope the Minister will ensure adequate safeguards are in place so that in 15 years' time we do not see similar horrific scenes on our televisions about abuse.

The move by the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs to put in place legal requirements on mandatory reporting through the upcoming Children First legislation is most welcome, as is the imminent creation of a national children and family support agency. Alone, however, these moves are not enough. We need a cultural shift in which children are put at the heart of our social agenda. This referendum is the beginning in creating that dialogue as it sets down a legal minimum standard. The Constitution needs to be amended so that there is a general recognition and affirmation of the rights of the child. We need to ensure there is provision for the State to intervene in those very rare cases in which a child's parents have failed to protect him or her. We need the Constitution to treat all children equally regardless of whether their parents are married. We need to be certain that when proceedings affect children, their best interests are paramount in achieving a resolution.

Finally, we need to ensure that the views of children are sought and considered in any proceedings affecting them.

Last week I wrote a column for thejournal.ieabout the long road this referendum has taken. Since 2007 there have been three different wordings proposed for a possible constitutional amendment. The wording before us tonight is the fourth such proposal. We have spent the last decade trying to make this amendment perfect. In using the term "we" I am referring to all of my colleagues in all political parties and those not in any party who have served the people during the past ten years.

In 2007 the then Minister of State with responsibility for children proposed that Article 42.5 of the Constitution be deleted and replaced with a new article that affirmed the "natural and imprescriptible rights of all children". Later that year the Joint Committee on the Constitutional Amendment on Children was established to agree an all-party consensus. This committee met 62 times over a period of 27 months and produced three reports. The final of these reports, in 2010, proposed different wording to strengthen children's constitutional rights. More recently, in 2011, a third wording was agreed but never formally published by the Minister, who had been appointed in 2008. However, with the arrival of the troika and the change of Government in 2011 this issue was sidetracked and the task to put this to bed fell to the new Government and the new Minister.

It is clear that before we set out to take on this challenge a significant amount of work had already been done on this issue and that should be acknowledged. Given the care that was shown by previous officeholders and the work that has been done by this Government and the last Government, we prioritised this measure as a stand-alone referendum to ensure that the debate could be clear and focused. It was also decided to hold the referendum on a Saturday to give maximum opportunity to all citizens to have their voices heard. It is crucial that those voting for the first time have the chance to help to bury the painful legacy of the past and to make history for our children.

I am honoured to serve on the Labour Party's campaign committee on this issue alongside my colleagues, Deputies White and Conway and the Minister of State at the Department of Health, Deputy Lynch. I look forward to working with those from all sides of the House to get this referendum passed. I hope that we will continue the debate on children's rights and child protection indefinitely in order that we ensure that we protect childhood for everyone. My long-term hope is that, as legislators, we can create a culture of listening and that children's views can to be taken into account in all aspects of their lives. This amendment empowers Members to draft and pass legislation to copper-fasten the rights of the child and mop up the anomalies in our law. I look forward to working with everyone here as well as the NGO sector to continue the advancement of children's rights in future. Childhood is precious and I am proud to be a part of the political system that has finally woken up to this fact.

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