The Government plans to insert five new provisions in the Constitution aimed at strengthening children's rights and providing greater protection against child sexual abuse, The Irish Timeshas learned.
Briefing notes on the proposed wording show the Government proposes to address the fallout from the statutory rape crisis by allowing the Oireachtas to introduce a zone of absolute protection, below which it would be automatically criminal to have sex with a child. The age of sexual consent, and the age at which the zone of protection would come into effect, will be left for the Oireachtas to decide.
All the planned changes would be incorporated into a single amendment which would substitute Article 42.5 of the Constitution. It also plans to change the title of Article 42 of the Constitution from "education" to "education and child protection".
On the issue of children's rights, the briefing notes provided to Opposition parties suggest the Government will avoid setting out a list of explicit rights for children. Instead, it will set out in more explicit terms the "natural and imprescriptible" rights of the child. The lack of children's rights, according to campaigners, has led to the rights of married parents dominating over children in areas such as adoption, child custody and child abuse.
The amendment will also propose changing the wording of the constitutional provision relating to State intervention in families where children are considered to be at risk. The reworded article would allow for the State to used "appropriate and proportionate means" to intervene in a family where parents of "any child" have failed in their duty towards that child.
The change would introduce a uniform standard of child protection for all children, regardless of the marital status of their parents.
A number of anomalies in the area of adoption are also due to be addressed in the wording. It proposes including an express constitutional provision permitting the adoption of children in long-term care under a court order.
Also, current adoption practice does not allow for the adoption of a child born into a marital family. The proposed change would make all children eligible for adoption.
The final wording is due to go to Cabinet next week, following consultations with Opposition parties. If the wording is approved by the Cabinet, a referendum is likely to be held in the first week of April.
It remains to be seen whether the Government will be able to secure all-party consensus on the planned referendum, while it is unclear if the changes will go far enough to satisfy children's rights groups.