Duties to children not being met, says Robinson

Children should have separate representation in family law cases here, according to international human rights activist Mary Robinson, the former president.

Speaking to The Irish Timesahead of an event in Dublin tomorrow to mark the 35th anniversary of One Family, formerly Cherish, Mrs Robinson also said Ireland's commitments under the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child were not being fully realised.

Mrs Robinson was Cherish's first president - from its foundation in 1973 until 1990. She described her experiences there as inspiring and as having had a huge impact on the direction of her career.

"At that time Cherish was quite unusual and courageous - a group of single mothers that wanted an organisation that they would run themselves."

It was particularly difficult for them, she says, "because being a single mother at the time meant being with no recognition, no support and actually being seen as almost an outcast in society".

Among the main issues facing Cherish were housing and achieving a welfare payment for single parents - the single mother's allowance, she said.

Her speech at tomorrow's lunch in Dublin Castle, she said, "is not just a nostalgic outing". She is very aware, for instance, that children in households headed by single parents are four times more likely to be in poverty and that 75 per cent of households on housing waiting lists are one-parent families.

"There's also the issue of the way the courts deal with issues of family law and children. I think the full commitment of the Convention on the Rights of the Child has not necessarily been respected in the sense of children should have a voice in such situations. I think children should be catered for in the court system through having, in some cases, separate representation."

One Family is calling on the Government to fund a child-contact centre, for children and parents for whom meeting and contact might be difficult.