Imelda Henry (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I am delighted to see the Thirty-First Amendment of the Constitution (Children) Bill 2012 before the House and I am very glad it is getting cross-party support. I welcome the Minister, Deputy Fitzgerald, and thank her and her staff for their commitment, dedication and hard work which has brought this legislation to this House. The Taoiseach decided to create a new Department of Children and Youth Affairs at senior Cabinet level and appointed the Minister who stated from the outset that she would address the serious matter of ensuring that each and every child in this country is protected. For far too long, many a blind eye was turned to the horrendous abuse suffered by children.

The amendment proposes constitutional change based on the following key objectives: protecting children; supporting families; removing inequalities in adoption; and recognising children in their own right.

I am also pleased that the Government will be running a major information campaign on the referendum, which will include a dedicated website and sending information booklets to every home. I welcome the support for the referendum from several children's organisations and support agencies. In particular, I welcome the remarks and support from Archbishop Diarmuid Martin yesterday. Having listened to Geoffrey Shannon, special rapporteur on child protection and chairman of the Adoption Authority of Ireland at a recent conference, I was struck by his passionate commitment to the issue. I am sure he will bring his expertise and knowledge to this campaign.

When the Taoiseach decided to appoint a senior Cabinet Minister it was reflected by taking child protection away from the Health Service Executive and the establishment of a new child and family support agency which will be fully operational early next year. The establishment of a single agency will provide a focus for the major reforms already under way. In the past, approximately 15 agencies dealt with children with difficulties. Sometimes, unfortunately, children got lost in the system.

The referendum will strengthen the protection of all children from abuse and neglect by putting their safety and welfare at the centre of decision making. It will support families by reaffirming and underpinning the State?s continued development of early intervention and family support services to protect children in their homes. It will treat all children equally when it comes to issues such as adoption, regardless of the marital status of the parents. It will recognise children in their own right by providing for the first time an express statement of their rights and give constitutional standing to the best interests and the views of the child in child care and family law proceedings.

We all know child abuse occurred in this country in the past. We have had several reports on it such as the Roscommon case, which was a shocking example of abuse and neglect of children at the hands of their parents. It was also the case that the efforts of social workers seeking to intervene to protect the children were met by a High Court challenge taken by the parents to prevent action by child protection services. The challenge was successful and, unfortunately, the children continued to live with the parents and suffered longer. The referendum will ensure this does not happen again.

A total of 2,000 children are in foster care. It may be the case for whatever reason that some parents are incapable of caring for a number of such children because of illness, drug abuse or who are simply overwhelmed by the demands of parenthood. Only last week I spoke with a social worker who told me about an 11-year old boy with whom she was dealing who had been with a foster care family since birth. His parents will never be able to care for him. He is in a loving family environment where he has two brothers and two sisters. He would love to be adopted by his foster parents and they would love to adopt him. We can make that happen by voting ?Yes? in the referendum. It is important that children?s voices are heard, in particular in a court case, and that the judge will get to speak to the child directly and not just through his or her social worker. This is a referendum for all children, but in particular it is for those children who are most vulnerable and most at risk. We must remember that every child matters.