Caít Keane (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I support what Senator Jillian van Turnhout said. A child is a child. I am concerned about a child being able to go to court if they have parental approval because many parents need education on what a child is and on what the rights of the child are. Senator van Turnhout has said that she will not push this. Senator Ivana Bacik proposed this in 2014 and I think the Government at the time was supportive of it. It is an issue that must be agreed. Some Senators mentioned ethnic and cultural background. Ethnicity and culture are not as important as the child. It is the child and the child's rights that are important in this, not the courts or the parents.