Gerald Nash (Louth, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I am glad to have this opportunity to wholeheartedly welcome the forthcoming referendum to enshrine the rights of children in our Constitution. As many speakers indicated, we have waited too long for this day. The Minister is to be congratulated on taking the bit between her teeth and delivering the wording contained in the proposed new article so soon into the Government's term of office. Some individuals have questioned the need for the referendum and have claimed that children's rights are adequately catered for. I would simply advise those people to recall our history. No one in the House needs to be reminded of the appalling sagas that have been recounted in respect of the child abuse which took place throughout our country. At best the State responded with incompetence to that abuse, at worst it did so with systemic, cold-hearted indifference. Those who claim that the days of abuse being perpetrated are in the past should talk to social workers, teachers, health care officials and ordinary, decent families and parents throughout the country. We are all aware of cases where children are vulnerable and in trouble. At present, our laws do not allow us to protect children in the way in which they are entitled to be protected.

If the referendum is passed, the State will be allowed to intervene in all cases where child safety and welfare are seriously at risk. This does not - and will never - constitute interference in the lives of ordinary families. Intervention will only take place in exceptional circumstances where there has been a clear and consistent failure of duty on the part of a child's natural parents. Had the rights of children been properly recognised in the Constitution in the first instance, we would not have witnessed the dreadful crimes which were perpetrated in the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s and which were recounted in this House in recent days. During the period to which I refer, children were effectively snatched from their parents on the most spurious of grounds. Very often those children were taken from single parents and families that were struggling with grinding poverty. As we are aware, the children in question were literally cash cows for, in many cases, religious organisations. The latter were paid by the State for the children's keep and we know that much of the money involved was never spent on them. That is a scandal which, to this day, has not been addressed and which remains largely unresolved.

The referendum and the legislation alone will not protect our children. As a nation, our actions must speak louder than dry ink on paper. There must be no more horror stories with regard to State indifference or neglect. The excuse given for past failings, namely, "We didn't know", is quite feeble and usually falls apart under the slightest of examinations. We are all aware of the threats facing children and we know what must be done to protect them. Future generations will not forgive us if we get it wrong and repeat the sins of the past. It is time we delivered on the words which were most likely inserted into the 1916 Proclamation by James Connolly and cherished "all the children of the nation equally".

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