Fergal Browne (Fine Gael)

The point I make is that in other legislation, the Government has differentiated between the different ages and acknowledged that in legal terms, we do not classify all people between the ages of zero and 18 as one group. Children are treated in many different ways and at many different levels by the law according to the extent of their minority. A point brought to my attention was that persons under 18 years are minors yet some of them can drive, buy cigarettes, have sexual intercourse legally, leave home and get married. There is a large range within that group.

My amendment is sensible and we should differentiate so the five year rule would apply to children between the ages of zero and 12 years and the three year rule apply to children aged 13 years or over in foster care. For a child in his or her teenage years, five years is equivalent to his or her secondary education. That is why I believe five years a bit long. I have no difficulty with the five year rule in the case of an infant being fostered but it will present difficulties in the case of a teenager. That is why I put forward this amendment in a helpful manner.