Trevor Ó Clochartaigh (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Tá céad fáilte roimh an Aire. Tréaslaím léi ó chroí as ucht an reachtaíocht seo a thabhairt os ár gcomhair. Is lá iontach stairiúil é don tSeanad agus lá tábhachtach do pháistí na tíre. Cuireann Sinn Féin fáilte roimh an mBille agus roimh an reifreann a bhéas á reachtáil i Mí na Samhna. Ró-fhada atá sé nach raibh cearta na leanaí á gclúdach ins an mBunreacht. An rud atáimid ag plé inniu ná an chéad uair a bhfuil aitheantas iomlán á thabhairt ag an Stáit go bhfuil na cearta sin ag leanaí, go bhfuil sé de cheart acu go dtabharfaí omós agus aitheantas dos na cearta sin agus nach raibh sé ceart go dtabharfaí cearta leanaí faoi scáth chearta na clainne, mar a rinneadh go dtí seo.

Sinn Féin warmly welcomes the introduction of this Bill and the referendum in November. For too long the rights of children have not been enshrined in the Constitution. What we are discussing today is the first recognition that this State believes children have the right to be heard and that, to date, this right has not been respected. The subsuming of children's rights into the rights of the family has failed. In recent years we saw the Ryan report and the infamous Roscommon case as two reasons we need this change but in reality there are hundreds of cases where this provision could have saved lives and prevented suffering of children. The minimum standard we should aim for is the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. That document must underpin all our laws concerning children. The direct incorporation of the UN convention into Irish law would be the ideal approach and we hope this is the first step to that full incorporation.

This referendum has been a long time coming. Although the wording falls short by some way of what it could have been, my party supports it and will campaign in favour of the constitutional amendment. The placing of the natural and imprescriptable rights of all children onto a constitutional level represents a long overdue recognition of the rights of children. If passed by the people, it will also represent a victory for all campaigners for children's rights, whose work and patience I salute, as have my fellow Senators.

It is not a perfect solution. We have tabled a number of amendments which we believe will improve the Bill and we hope there can be a full discussion on those tomorrow. Amended or unamended, the passing of this amendment will be, in some ways, only the start of the battle. The Government must commit to ensuring the legal profession is fully knowledgeable on these new provisions. This amendment has the potential to dismantle some of the legal barriers which have prevented the State from taking action where it was necessary to protect children. The threshold for State intervention is to be adjusted in order that recurrences of such cases as the Roscommon abuse case should become things of the past.

The amendment will ensure that foster children, who have no connection with or who wish to have no connection with their birth families, may be adopted by loving foster parents. This change is for exceptional circumstances and anybody who objects to it is failing to see it is a necessary change and is in the interests of children, not of the State. This amendment will have no impact on the place of the family in the Constitution, something we believe needs modernising, in any case. We need to contest any attempts to muddy the water on this issue and must dispel any unfounded arguments.

The biggest issue remarked on by Sinn Féin in regard to this change is that courts will still not be required to view the best interests of the child as the paramount consideration where there is not a guardianship, custody or access issue in question. The provision fails to address this issue, which is a great pity. Nevertheless, as I stated, Sinn Féin supports this measure as a very important step forward, will support it in the Seanad and will campaign, actively and enthusiastically, in favour of its adoption by the people.

I have a number of other points but this will be a pleasant day for all people and all Senators who believe Sinn Féin are opposed to everything - we are not opposed to this Bill.