Patrick Nulty (Dublin West, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I commend the Minister on the work she has done to bring the referendum to fruition. She has a strong commitment to children and vast professional experience in the area. I am particularly proud to be a Member of the Oireachtas when the referendum is being put to the people.

Prior to being elected for Dublin West, I worked for many years as policy officer with Focus Ireland and was involved in some of the initial discussions and submissions when the Oireachtas committee chaired by the former Minister, Mary O’Rourke, was formed. I am on the record as being critical of the economic strategies of the previous Fianna Fáil Government but while in the NGO sector I worked with the previous Minister of State with responsibility for children, Barry Andrews, and found him to have a strong commitment to the area. It is right that his work in this area is acknowledged.

The referendum to deliver children’s rights is something for which people have been campaigning right across civil society for some time. Organisations such as Focus Ireland, the Children’s Rights Alliance, Empowering People in Care, EPIC, which represents children in care or who have moved out of the care system, Barnardos and countless NGOs have championed this cause. It is a positive development that in the House where there are often, rightly, areas of strong, fundamental and in some cases irreconcilable disagreement, that there are issues on which I hope there is consensus. When it comes to child protection and the rights of children that is one of the areas on which there is agreement.

This is very much a first step in terms of delivering on children’s rights in the Constitution. It is an important and strong step in the right direction but it is by no means the end of the discussion. Social and economic rights are also inalienable and should be included in the Constitution. In that context, there are 100,000 children living in poverty. We know from the Central Statistics Office that 13% of children live in homes that were not adequately heated in 2010. Educational disadvantage and inequality is still a reality for many children. Until we address those issues our work as an Oireachtas and a country will not be complete.

The constitutional amendment specifically recognises two things: the rights of the child as a citizen in this Republic, for the want of a better way of expressing it, and most importantly, when it comes to discussing where they live and with whom, that their voice is recognised and will be heard in the process. The fact that the new Article 42A specifically draws attention to the rights of the child is crucially important and is welcome. I hope it will help to ensure the best outcomes for children.

It would be remiss of me not to follow on from Deputy Twomey’s reference to the 6,000 children in care. Section 45 of the Child Care Act 1991 must be amended to provide for a statutory right to aftercare. Both the Fine Gael Party and the Labour Party supported the amendment when we were in opposition and gave commitments to change it when in government. I look forward to us working together to try to introduce such a legislative change to provide for a statutory right to aftercare for all young people who leave State care. That would be an important step forward and would give a practical and policy effect to the text of the Constitution, Bunreacht na hÉireann. I hope we can return to the issue.

There is an inextricable link between homelessness and child protection and ensuring that children can grow up in a secure environment. Many of the tragic and difficult life stories which were expressed poignantly and elaborated on in the report of the special review group chaired by Geoffrey Shannon, with the assistance of people such a Norah Gibbons, related to young people who died in care and who had been involved with the homeless service at times and had slipped through the cracks. We must address those issues as well and ensure that where a child is at risk or becomes homeless that the State, as it were, would wrap its arms around them in the way that a parent would wrap their arms around a child who was in trouble or unwell. We must ensure we learn from those telling and profound reports about our fellow citizens who have unfortunately passed away despite having been in State care.

The referendum is a step in the right direction to deal with what is a complex issue, but it also requires effective policy such as the provision of housing, dealing with families in crisis and making sure, for example, that we support community mental health teams so services for families experiencing stress and difficulties due to breakdown or addiction and the plethora of issues those who work in the social work or child care area encounter are protected. If we do not do that the amendment to the Constitution will be just a change on a piece of paper; it will not genuinely transform the lives of children in the Republic. I hope the issue can be central to the debate as well.

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