Jillian van Turnhout (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 63:

In page 60, to delete lines 12 and 13 and substitute the following:“(e) the views of the child, where relevant;”.

I recognise that it was my error in the first amendment and therefore I have no difficulty with it being ruled out of order.

I welcome the inclusion of this section which inserts a new Part V in the Guardianship of Infants Act 1964 and provides the first ever detailed definition of the best interests of the child in Irish law. While this will be helpful to the Judiciary, I have some concerns. Some elements of the voice of the child provisions may fall foul of the constitutional requirements if the Supreme Court passes the children's rights amendment to the Constitution.

As we all know, on 10 November 2013, the people spoke. We still await the decision of the Supreme Court. Article 42A.1 of the Constitution, Supreme Court decision pending, will read: "The State recognises and affirms the natural and imprescriptible rights of all children and shall, as far as practicable, by its laws protect and vindicate those rights." It is clear to me, having actively engaged at all levels of consultation and debate around the wording of the constitutional amendment, that it was the intention of the Legislature and of the people in passing the referendum to enshrine children's rights in the Constitution and thus safeguard and vindicate their rights in future legislation.

As we know, Ireland ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child in 1992. As far as I am concerned, in the drafting of any Bill which impacts on children's lives, those of us in the Legislature need to ensure the best interests of the child are paramount, that the views of the child are heard when key decisions are made about their lives and that the evolving capacity of the child is facilitated. As I have said, the best interests of the child provisions in section 3 are strong, and while I am not questioning that, I am keen to ensure they are absolute.

My concern, to which the amendment pertains, relates to the voice and views of the child being heard and represented throughout the judicial procedure. In this regard, section 32(3)(e), section 32(10) and section 32(11) of the Act of 1964, as proposed to be inserted by section 63 of this Bill, must be amended to establish that listening to the views and hearing the voice of the child impacted by the court process is imperative rather than a discretionary provision, as suggested in the current wording, which refers to "may" rather than "shall". I am proposing that the references to "may" would be bolstered to "shall", thus mandating the Minister to introduce regulations on the required qualifications and experience held by a child's view expert, the associated fees and the minimum performance standards. That is why I believe so passionately in this amendment.