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Tuesday 16, February 2010

"2010 Must Be the Year Ireland Stands Up for Children's Rights"
Children's Organisations Respond to Constitution Report

Dublin, 16 February 2010 - Barnardos, CARI, the Children's Rights Alliance, the Dublin Rape Crisis Centre, ISPCC, One In Four, and the Rape Crisis Network of Ireland today welcomed the publication of the final report of the Joint Committee on the Constitutional Amendment on Children. The group recognised and applauded the major efforts by all the political parties involved to reach a unique consensus, and congratulated the Chair of the Committee, Deputy Mary O'Rourke, on a significant achievement.

The organisations expressed their appreciation of the far reaching measures the Committee have included. In particular, the inclusion of the best interests of the child and the right of the child to have their voice heard in any judicial and administrative proceedings affecting them were particularly welcome. The inclusion of a provision for children to be proportionally protected by the State where parents fail in their responsibility towards the child, regardless of their marital status is also a very welcome development.

Over the coming days, the organisations will further analyse the amendment put forward as it relates to the further promotion and protection of children's rights. All of the organisations are committed in principle to campaigning for this change. The group noted however that the principles enshrined in its own submission to the Committee had been largely recognised.

The charities urged Government to move quickly to set a date for the referendum to strengthen children's rights in the Constitution as soon as possible. In addition, legislation recommended by the Committee in previous reports to provide for vetting, soft information and strict and absolute liability must be published as a matter of urgency, the charities said. It would also be desirable that the heads of the proposed legislative changes relating to adoption would be available in advance of the referendum.

In many ways, 2009 was the year in which we discovered the shameful neglect and abuse of children over many decades in Ireland. 2010 must be the year that Ireland stands up for children's rights, and makes our country a model for the rest of the world, by holding this long awaited referendum.

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