Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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18. To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs her views on the practice of child beauty pageants; her plans to ban such events; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [14006/14]

Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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I share the deep distaste of colleagues for events such as child beauty pageants which are not at all appropriate for children.

I have asked my Department to examine options which can be taken. My Department has commissioned and funded a research project which is being conducted by University College Cork and which is looking at the impact of commercialisation and sexualisation of children in Ireland. This important research is currently undergoing peer review and is expected to be published before the Summer.

In addition, I can confirm that my Department has commissioned the Centre for Effective Services to undertake an international review of other countries' responses to these issues, which will build on the University College Cork research project, and which I would hope will inform the Government's response and future actions.

I believe there is a strong role for civil society and public opinion leaders in highlighting the dangers of child beauty pageants and I very much welcome the cross party Seanad motion on this issue to which the Government gave its support. The answer is not always legislative and I would note that legislative proposals in France on banning pageants ran into difficulties in light of criticisms regarding the vagueness around the specifics of what types of events were addressed. I also believe this issue must be seen in the context of the broader sexualisation and commercialisation of children. As part of my efforts to tackle these broader problems, in 2012 I extended an invitation to the Irish retail sector to respond to increasing concerns about the sexualisation of childrenswear. Retail Ireland, responded to my call and accepted my invitation to bring forward Ireland’s first ever guidelines on the 'responsible retailing of childrenswear'.

These guidelines are not just about restricting what retailers can sell, but instead provide a more constructive guidance on best practice on a range of issues such as styling, slogans, age-appropriateness, size, labelling and marketing. I believe this code is now playing an important and constructive role in informing future decision-making by retailers and I am happy to report that the number of complaints regarding inappropriate childrenswear have fallen. However I would urge parents to continue to feedback any concerns or complaints, either in-store or by contacting retail@ibec.ie.

An Coimisium le Rinci Gaelacha, The Irish Dancing Commission, is also to be commended for their introduction of additional rules prohibiting the use of make-up including false eye lashes, the tinted make-up I mentioned, and artificial tanning products for the face. Dancers who are ten years of age or younger may no longer compete using any of these.