Noel Harrington (Cork South West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome this Bill and congratulate the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, Deputy Fitzgerald, on introducing it to the House. The purpose of the Bill is to hold a referendum to allow us to include in our Constitution an amendment to recognise children in their own right and to allow their interests to be considered. The amendment proposes constitutional change based on the key objectives of protecting children, supporting families, removing inequalities in adoption and recognising children in their own right.

Last year in Ireland there were 1,500 cases of physical, sexual and emotional abuse against children. We must ensure that this figure, in so far as it can be done, is reduced to zero. It must be seen as completely wrong and illegal to abuse a child in any way or in any circumstance. We must ensure that every person who has contact or influence with children behaves in the best interests of the child. We have all heard the phrase too many times that "children should be seen and not heard". I am confident that the passing of this referendum will mean that children will now be heard as well as seen.

We have discovered over the past 50 years a litany of crimes perpetrated on children by the State, by State authorities, by groups and individuals working on behalf of the State and agencies working on its behalf, as well as other organisations. We must also realise that crimes of abuse were perpetrated by parents, siblings and other family members, as well as those living in close proximity. It is very sad that the environment where one would expect children to be offered the greatest protection is, too often, the one in which they are in greatest danger. That is an issue that this referendum must address, delicately and sensitively. During this period we have transformed many of our laws, particularly those that discriminated against woman and children. Our membership of the European Union can be seen as a positive influence in terms of removing inequalities in our society and delivering a lot of social legislation that has allowed us to move on. In that context, I would mention the removal of the marriage bar on female civil servants, equal pay, the abolition of the concept of illegitimacy, social welfare payments for lone parents, the creation of special needs assistants and much more besides.

In the context of equality legislation, one of the challenges we must also face is how we deal with words. To be treated equally, for example, does not mean being treated the same. These are two different concepts. In the same vein, being treated equally does not mean being treated with fairness. We have seen, for example, that with regard to motor insurance, female drivers are now dealt with in the same way as male drivers, despite the fact that they are safer drivers. They are paying more in insurance premiums because of equality legislation. That is not fair. These are words that can have significant consequences and we must be very careful in our legislative practices.

We have made tremendous improvements in the lives of our children over the past 50 years in providing education and care for all of them. We have also taken most children with physical and mental disabilities out of institutions and brought them home to attend local schools. I hope that these improvements can be built on by the decision by the Taoiseach to create a full Minister for Children and Youth Affairs in this Government. Once again, I commend the Minister on the level and quality of work she has undertaken over the past 18 months.

We must recognise the main factors in raising children are the influence of their parents, their teachers and their extended family, as well as the environment they grow up in. If one of these influences is lacking or not behaving in the most appropriate manner then we have a problem that cannot, and should not, be ignored. Other influences have also emerged in recent decades, about which we must be extra vigilant, such as drugs and other illegal substances, our alcohol culture, negative influences coming through peer pressure and inappropriate role models portrayed in the media, including the Internet. We face enormous challenges in protecting children, not just in the family and the physical environment, but at a subliminal level too.

We now have a much better understanding of the needs of children with intellectual disabilities, special needs, mental health problems and behavioural issues. We must be conscious of the pressures that our children come under and be able to support them and their families every step of the way.

We have achieved a remarkable turnaround in our record on road safety, for example, in reducing road casualties by the implementation of a ten-year strategy. We must be prepared to undertake a similar strategy for children to ensure their safety, education, health, self-esteem and all the other factors in their complicated lives are improved. We must start a debate on creating a ten-year strategy to improve the lives of children. We are successful in asking people in their 30s, 40s, and 50s to give up smoking but, regrettably, cigarette companies are happy to put pressure on children to take up smoking so that the conveyer belt keeps going. We must do something to tackle the issue.

As part of this legislative package there will be subsequent changes to adoption law. In drafting the legislation I urge the Minister to also consider those who have gone through the adoption process many years ago. I accept there are many delicate and sensitive issues involved but there is a gap in many of the records of adoptions in the past and even in a difficult time of restricted resources I ask that extra effort be put into bringing those persons together if they so wish.

It is our primary duty as legislators to protect the weakest groups and individuals in society. It is correct that we should consider the rights of children in the Constitution but we should also consider how children can be protected and the impact on them of other legislative measures that we debate in this House. It is in our interest to look after the rights of children as it is our children who eventually will look after us as we grow older and need their attention. In passing the referendum we will build a better Republic. To quote an extract from the Proclamation:

The Republic guarantees religious and civil liberty, equal rights and equal opportunities to all citizens, and declares its resolve to pursue the happiness and prosperity of the whole nation and of all its parts, cherishing all the children of the nation equally.

I congratulate the Minister on introducing the referendum and wish her well. I look forward to the support not just of the House but of all the groups concerned in debating the referendum.

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