Rónán Mullen (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I studied French for a long time. Article 7 of the convention states children have the right, where possible, to be raised by their parents. The roles playing by a mother and a father are gender specific and important. Their complementary but different nature is vital to the optimum development of the child. Having regard to the disagreement on what constitutes "parents" under the convention which was the focus of Senator Jillian van Turnhout's criticism of certain unnamed Senators, where there is a conflict regarding interpretation of international law treaty provisions, the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties 1969 is invoked. This directs that regard be had to the travaux préparatoireof the legal instrument set out in Article 32. These preparatory works are the official record on a negotiation. Regarding the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child 1989, we have discussed what a reference to "parents" means. That was the focus of the Senator's criticism. There was a high horse involved and I thought of Christy Moore.