Eamonn Coghlan (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister to the House. I am pleased to support this motion by Senator Jillian van Turnhout and her Independent colleagues. I speak tonight not just as a Senator but as a father of four and a grandfather of three. I have two beautiful granddaughters, one aged five and the other who turns two today. They are absolutely gorgeous and when I see them traipsing around the house wearing my wife's or my daughter's high-heeled shoes or trying to put make-up all over their faces, I smile at their innocence and beauty.

On the other hand, I am appalled when I see the sexualisation of children through the medium of child beauty pageants. The very idea of dressing an innocent child in sexed-up clothing, high heels, make-up, hair extensions, fake tan and even false teeth to hide their own children's teeth, is wrong. It is disgusting. I often question what our society is coming to and if we have lost the wonderful childhood world of innocence that children are supposed to enjoy as they grow up. Is there not enough pressure on children, particularly teenagers, through sexed-up MTV videos, the various reality television shows and the cyberbullying we know is happening? Television nowadays encourages children to become superstars without going through the necessary work, whether on the stage or in any other walk of life.

Parents who put their children in pageants need to ask themselves why they are depriving those children of a normal childhood. They should ask themselves whether they are exploiting their child for their own benefit. Or are they trying to relive their lives through their children? Senator Hayden mentioned that it is all about competition these days, whether competition in sports or something else. Of course, competition is entirely natural for human beings.