Seanad debates

Thursday, 26 March 2015

Children and Family Relationships Bill 2015: Committee Stage

 

10:30 am

Photo of Jillian van TurnhoutJillian van Turnhout (Independent) | Oireachtas source

In regard to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, obviously I am delighted that people are taking a renewed interest in this convention because it is something I have read countless times. We are evolving in our understanding and are furthering children's rights in Ireland. However, I am concerned about the references made today and on Tuesday to the convention. There has been an interpretation that I cannot find.

I reread the convention last night. I want to be absolutely clear. The word "mother" is mentioned once in the convention, in article 24, regarding pre and post-natal health. The word "father" is mentioned zero times. The word "parent" is mentioned 36 times and the word "family" 19 times. There is no definition of any of those terms in the convention. Article 5, for example, clearly states there is a wide interpretation of who may be involved in a child's life and states that state parties shall respect the responsibilities, rights and duties of parents or, where applicable, the members of the extended family or community as provided by local custom, legal guardians or other persons legally responsible for the child. Article 9 concerns care orders, custody and access where parents are living separately. Article 8 refers to the right to identity. I do not agree with the interpretation that has been given of the convention by some Members of the House.

I would like the convention to be binding in Ireland, but it is not. What is binding in Ireland is the European Convention on Human Rights. I examined its laws.In all of the case law of the European Court of Human Rights, ECHR, the overriding consideration of the court is on the substance of the relationship between the social or biological parent and the child, not the biological link. This is clear. Nowhere in that case law does the court place biological parents over social parents. There is no such ruling. It is firmly established in jurisprudence around the European convention's Article 8 on the right to respect for private and family life and Article 14 on the prohibition of discrimination. The European convention forms part of our domestic law through the European Convention on Human Rights Act 2003. We comply with these laws.

Without knowing it, maybe the ECHR is in on the groupthink in which we are all supposed to share. I believed that I was thinking independently. It is difficult to understand how people can claim that the Ombudsman for Children and the Children's Rights Alliance and its member organisations are acting against the best interests of the child. When explaining the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child to someone, my understanding of its importance is that it gives paramount consideration to the best interests of the child. It also addresses continuity of care, a child's security, his or her right to an identity and voice, and non-discrimination. These are the principles within the convention. I have listened carefully to all of the debate. When we state matters as fact, I ask that they really be fact and that we not misrepresent the UN convention.

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