Sorca Clarke (Longford-Westmeath, Sinn Fein)

I want to put on record my real disappointment that our proposed amendment No. 157 was ruled out of order. This was raised last Wednesday when we were here. Not only is it a missed opportunity to ensure this legislation is compliant with the requirements of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, but it is a breach of children's rights under the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child to place them in an institution setting not tailored to their needs or capable of safeguarding their welfare. It is grossly inappropriate for any child to be in an adult facility receiving treatment simply because no space is available in a child centre due to the lack of resources or whatever. A child being in an adult psychiatric facility or an adult mental health facility is something we should be moving away from as a State urgently and with the utmost speed.

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