Deirdre Clune (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Like other speakers, I am glad the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, Deputy Frances Fitzgerald, has announced the wording of the proposed amendment to the Constitution. It is an important day. We will be asked to insert the new Article 42A which will ensure that children will be visible and will be afforded the protection of the State. It is important to state at this point, as will be repeated in the ensuing debate, that this measure applies particularly to children who are in exceptional situations. It is not for every child or every family. Families will be recognised equally with children in the Constitution. This Article will refer to children from birth to the age of 18 and will be the sole focus of the referendum. I am glad there will be political support from all sides for this referendum, which is very important, and I look forward to the debate. It is an opportunity for this country to stand up and recognise children. The former Supreme Court judge, Mrs. Justice Catherine McGuinness, called for such a constitutional change almost 20 years ago. It is a very important day for us.

Will the Leader speak to the Minister for Education and Skills about the possibility of having a debate in this House? Yesterday at the Joint Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, we heard a number of submissions on employment, how to increase it and how to ensure that individuals are prepared for it. Forfás and the expert group on future skills needs gave a very interesting submission in which they called for the development of a foreign language education policy within a five to ten-year period, across all levels of education. Senator D'Arcy also mentioned this point when he referred to the PayPal issue. The teaching of languages across the education system is a matter on which we should focus. I speak regularly on the importance of mathematics, science and engineering but equally, time and again, we come across the fact that we have a problem with foreign languages and the teaching thereof. I include in this Mandarin, Spanish and a range of other languages.

There is a problem in the context of the teaching of languages and in respect of the language capabilities of Irish students who are seeking employment.