Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I support the Sinn Féin amendment. I raised this point in my contribution on Tuesday night and stated that "Provision shall be made by the law that in the resolution of all proceedings brought by the State..." is too narrow. It excludes situations where the State has failed or is failing a child and a concerned grandparent or other relative wants to bring a case. Unfortunately, the voice of the child will not be heard in that regard and that is a regrettable step. I referred also to an article in last Monday's law section of The Irish Times which gave the example of the KA v the Health Service Executive and Others judgment in which the same issue raised its head. If we want to improve our system, and that is what everybody wants, why is this being restricted to cases brought by the State? It is restrictive because the best interests of the child will only be considered in cases of adoption, guardianship, custody, access etc. The best interests of the child should be of paramount consideration in all matters of concern to the child and not restricted to those areas.

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