Derek Nolan (Galway West, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the opportunity to speak on this Bill, which will, I believe, be one of the most important to be passed in the Government's lifetime. I also commend the Government, and indeed the Minister, for producing a Bill the wording of which is widely lauded by political society and civil society alike.

Currently, children's rights are lacking, and the Constitution as it stands is failing them. The obvious absence of provision for children's rights in Bunreacht na hÉireann is stark. We have seen evidence of the impact of this absence before now and we need to make this a thing of the past. It has been obvious that this major problem needs to be rectified, and the answer to a legal problem can only be a legal remedy. As such, a fundamental change to the way we treat children in the Constitution is necessary.

Historically, parents' rights were seen as paramount and, despite evidence to the contrary, it was widely accepted that parents knew best. The family was afforded special protection by the State. This special protection can be seen in many different cases over the years and while no one is denying that the family has a special interest and should have that place of paramount importance in the Constitution, it cannot be used to denigrate the rights of children as a secondary issue.

The Kilkenny incest case, the Ryan commission report, the baby Ann case and the Roscommon incest case are all glaring examples of failings not only by the legal system but by successive Governments that have shied away from implementing the legal changes necessary to protect our children. When we look back over these reports, the details of which can only be described as abhorrent, it is clear that the State failed to protect the victims in each. The Kilkenny incest case highlighted a legal stumbling block. It found that the strong emphasis on the rights of the family in the Constitution could give a higher value to the rights of parents than to the rights of children. The proposed amendment means that children will be protected from harm in the future and will place the child at the centre of decision-making regardless of his or her parents' marital status.

The Ryan report shocked the nation. That children were suffering systematic abuse in more than 200 State-funded institutions was a blatant indication of the lack of protection afforded to them. In that report it was advised that the needs of children should be foremost in all policies affecting children. This amendment ensures that in any court proceedings the interests of the child will be paramount. Such a move should bring about a greater focus on these issues through our child care policies.

The baby Ann case saw the Supreme Court rule in favour of a child's natural parents even though baby Ann had been given up for adoption by them two years previously. This was in recognition of the special protection given to parents in the Constitution, yet there was no individual protection afforded to Ann, the child at the centre of the case. The amendment will provide that the rights and protections enjoyed by children are to be enjoyed by all children irrespective of their parents' marital status.

The Roscommon incest and abuse case, in which the married parents of a large family sexually abused their children for more than a decade, was another stark example of failure by the State and its legal architecture to protect children. In this case the children's mother was able to secure a High Court order preventing a local health board from taking the children into care. Consequently, the children stayed with their abusers for many more years than they should have. Constitutional guidance gave priority to the marital family. This type of failure would be prevented by this constitutional amendment.

I could go on. In all, there are 17 major reports on gross child protection failings - 17 tragedies in which vulnerable children suffered abuse and neglect. To echo what the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, Deputy Gilmore, said yesterday, we are at last being informed by the bitter lessons of the past. We have learned from the dark history of our past when children's interests were ignored. The proposed constitutional amendment will provide the legal tools to ensure these gross failings cannot happen again. Our country will be constitutionally bound to treat future generations fairly and equally and with their best interests at the very centre of decision making. Article 42A is an important step in strengthening the protection of all children in the State. It is a most welcome development, identifying children as much more than the property of their parents or the State. They are included in our society as children in their own right - vulnerable individuals who enjoy security and protection as an inherent right.

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