Alex White (Labour)

Perhaps this is not an occasion for that level of debate about who was what or where and who said what, where. In regard to the overall legal context of what has been reported upon in the Roscommon case, there is a clear relevance to the children's referendum. I agree with Mr. Geoffrey Shannon that if the wording of the referendum had been implemented and entered into the Constitution this year, it would not have made any difference, unfortunately, to the situation that pertained in this case. It may be difficult to point to any specific case on which a change in the Constitution would impact in the direct way some people expect. That said, it would change the constitutional atmosphere in which people work.

One issue we debated for more than a year in that committee was the threshold of intervention. When and in what circumstances the State should be entitled to intervene in a family where there is risk to children is a controversial point. There is an argument abroad that this entitlement should be greatly curtailed and maintained at a very restricted level, as it is currently in our law. That is one outcome a change in the Constitution might achieve. It would have a practical effect for social workers and care managers across the system because, from what I observe, there is a level of uncertainty and sometimes even fear on the part of practitioners and their managers as to what they are entitled to do in any given situation. As is natural and human, they tend to hold back from an intervention if they think are legal constraints and they err on the side of caution and non-intervention when it may have been appropriate for them to intervene, acting in accordance with their better professional instincts. There is a legal and constitutional context to this that must be addressed at the level of the Constitution, and that should be done.

While many are involved in the debate, which is as it should be, there has been silence so far on one side of the debate, namely, those who argue we should restrain and restrict intervention. What do they now think in regard to the Roscommon case? Do they believe the threshold of intervention should be as high as it is or do they accept it should be changed? There is no point in saying these were exceptional circumstances. Every time there is a case such as this, people say it is exceptional. There are far too many so-called exceptional situations and cases. We need to change the law and the Constitution. I welcome the debate.