Geraldine Feeney (Fianna Fail)

I welcome the Minister of State at the Department of Health and Children, Deputy Brian Lenihan, to the House. Since our previous debate on this issue, we have already seen substantial change in the area of child protection. Not alone do we have a committee on child protection, of which the Minister of State and I are members, the Taoiseach has announced we will have a referendum in the spring to protect the rights of the child. The Minister of State is currently engaging in talks with all parties on the issue and he will, no doubt, have all-party support for it. The talks involve seeking a wording that will be agreeable to all parties. The referendum is a good news story and I am sure we will get agreement on the wording.

With regard to the rights of the child, I was interested to hear the judgment of the Supreme Court in the case of baby Ann. I heard somebody mention on a radio show that both sets of parents had been legally represented, but that nobody legally represented the right of the little two year old girl. Initially I thought the judge would be responsible for protecting her rights, but realised that constitutionally he might not be in a position to do that. Has the Minister of State an opinion on whether she should have been legally represented or whether the court should have appointed someone to represent her?

When the Minister of State was in Geneva, I was gratified to see the UN Committee was pleased with Ireland's signing up to the different recommendations it laid down. We have come a long way in the past 14 years. We have an Ombudsman for Children, a National Children's Office, a dedicated Minister of State with responsibility for children, Deputy Brian Lenihan, and Dáil na nÓg, about which I spoke briefly on our previous discussion. I know something about Dáil na nÓg because both my daughters were very involved with it.

Ireland was not without problems or concerns with regard to child protection. However, compared with other countries we were far more advanced with regard to child safety. We have all read from time to time about places like Thailand where there is sex trafficking of teenagers. Sadly, I have heard that young men, including young Irish men, are frequent visitors to Thailand.

The issue of child labour is another concern. A mother in Dublin may pay €140 for a pair of football boots, but the poor child who has practically blinded himself or herself at the sewing machine making the boots only gets approximately €2 for a day's work.

I also want to mention the UN Committee's concerns about immigration and communities that continue to practise female genital mutilation. At the weekend we heard the Supreme Court has come back with its judgment on the case going through the court and that it has granted the mother the right to appeal. The issue is topical.