Michael McDowell (Independent) | Oireachtas source

For people whose state of affairs has no family dimension, this amendment promises absolutely nothing, yet it is being put into the fundamental rights section of the Constitution. I just wonder what it is doing there. Are we are saying that we are creating rights? If we were going to create rights, we would do what Senator Clonan is suggesting, which is ratify the protocol to the international instrument and create statutory rights for people, not just people who have a family or what remains of their family to support them, but also for people who are not in that position.

I do not want to be negative and I am not being negative. Things can be put into the Constitution that have no effect virtually at all. For a disabled citizen who needs care but does not have a family in a position to give that care, this amendment does not even aspire to deal with their situation. The term “striving” means nothing because it is striving to support family members who are not there to support such a person. I am suspicious generally of people tinkering with the Constitution, but I am much more suspicious of someone who says they are putting something into the fundamental rights section of the Constitution. The Constitution, in Articles 40 to 44, inclusive, deals with the personal rights of citizens, family rights, education, religious rights and children's rights. We are now putting in a new part which is headed "Care". This is a new chapter or subchapter, so to speak, in the Constitution. The strange thing about it is that no rights are being conferred and for very significant numbers of those who need care, their situation is not even being remotely addressed by the constitutional amendment we are putting in place.

I wish the Minister well in everything she does, but I do not believe this particular amendment will change anything. Senator Clonan's amendment would achieve something.