Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Deputy Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin did a lot of work at the Joint Committee on the Constitutional Amendment on Children. In its report the committee endorsed the fundamental principle of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, as identified by the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, which states the best interests of children are a primary consideration in all actions considering children. The point I am making is that the principle of paramountcy is built into every action where the agency will be involved in the care and protection of children, but there are functions of the agency where a child may not be involved and, therefore, to accept the amendments would not be appropriate because there will be functions of the agency where there may not be children involved. If I were to accept the amendments, it would mean paramountcy would apply in these situations, which would be inappropriate. Every time a decision is taken on the protection and welfare of a child, as the Child Care Act and Adoption Act suggest, the best interests of the child will be the paramount consideration. For these reasons, I will not accept the amendments.

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