Mary Moran (Labour) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the opportunity to speak on the Thirty-First Amendment of the Constitution (Children) Bill. I welcome the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, Deputy Frances Fitzgerald, and congratulate her on the excellent work she has done to date in bringing this Bill to a referendum on 10 November. I welcome and acknowledge the cross-party support as well as support from many children's groups, including Barnardos, ISPCC and the National Children's Rights Alliance under Senator Turnhout. I commend Senator van Turnhout for her very emotional, forthright, warm and encouraging speech today. I appreciate and acknowledge the statement yesterday by Archbishop Martin. It is great to see so much cross-party and cross-groupings support. I agree with Senator Cummins who said that we cannot afford to become complacent. The level of support for the Bill is great.

The passing of the referendum will have a profoundly positive impact on the way that children are treated. The wording of the referendum states that the State recognises and affirms the natural and imprescriptible rights of all children and will protect and vindicate those rights. It also crucially states that the views of children will be taken into account in legal proceedings. Putting children's rights specifically into the Constitution will mean, in my opinion, that in those cases where children are being abused or neglected in the family, the State can now step in more quickly to protect them. It has been very encouraging to witness the almost universal support for the referendum since the wording was announced. It would appear that we have come to recognise that our track record as a State of protecting children has been flawed. We have listened to the litany of cases of child abuse and neglect which have come to light over the years and wondered how such things could possibly happen in a so-called civilised country. We have come to the realisation of exactly what has happened.

The referendum will copperfasten the protection of children in the Constitution and will ensure that we take a child centred approach by making children the focus of every decision that is being taken about their welfare. It will mean that when decisions are being taken affecting them, their rights must be taken into account. The proposed amendment will recognise that children being children, by their nature, are vulnerable and deserve certain protections from the State. Last year, as has been referred to, there were approximately 30,000 child protection and welfare concerns reported to the welfare services. The vast majority of these cases are dealt with by way of support to the parents and family. Of these 30,000 cases over 16,000 were child welfare concerns and of that number there were 1,500 confirmed cases of sexual, physical, or emotional abuse.

The referendum will reaffirm and underpin the continuing development of early intervention and family support services which play a vital role in responding to child welfare concerns thereby preventing more serious problems arising. The objective is to protect children in the home and prevent them from being taken into care at a later stage. Of the few dissenting voices who have spoken out until now, one concern appears to suggest that the amendment, if passed, will give the State preference over the parent when deciding what is in the child's best interest. There are concerns that the provision might give the State too much power, but I am firmly convinced that this will not be the case. I am delighted the Minister has referred to this and has acknowledged and reaffirmed that this will not be case.

The amendment will force the State to consider the rights of the child above all else but in a proportionate way. The wording of the amendment acts to curb excessive control by the State by stating in the proposed Article 42A.2.10 that only in exceptional cases will the State become involved. The amendment gives children constitutional rights that are robust but in a way that does not undermine the rights of the parents unless they have failed in their duty towards the child. Cases such as the Roscommon one, where children were left to suffer in the family home for far too long should not happen in the future. The incorporation of dedicated provisions for children in the Constitution have long been called for by expert groups, including the Kilkenny incest investigation, the constitutional review group, the all-party Oireachtas Committee on the Constitution and the Joint Committee on the Constitutional Amendment on Children 2007 to 2011.

Former Supreme Court judge, Mrs. Catherine McGuinness, noted almost 20 years ago that the Constitution might be interpreted as giving a higher value to the rights of parents than to those of children. Since that time successive Governments have examined the issue, but until now - great credit is due to the Minister for this - no action has been taken. I see this as a great step forward and I am very confident that it will receive overwhelming support. We cannot afford, however, to become complacent.

It is fantastic to see the website childrensreferendum.ie established. It will be a great source of information for everybody in the country. We all have a part to play in urging people to come out and vote on 10 November. Like others, I am delighted the referendum is being held on a Saturday, which is a step forward. It is the way to go and reduces the economic cost, particularly the costs entailed in closing schools. I have just one concern about the referendum and it relates to posters. Perhaps we would be better off, since there is such widespread cross-party support for the referendum, using the money to be spent on posters to provide better information.