Groups seek action on children's rights issue

Children's rights campaigners expressed disappointment at what they said was a lack of Government commitment to bring about speedy reform in areas such as services for children with mental health problems and young people seeking asylum.

The Children's Rights Alliance, a coalition of 80 non-governmental organisations, said the lack of clear timetables for addressing areas where children's rights were being breached was disappointing.

However, the alliance's chief executive, Jillian van Turnhout, welcomed Minister for Children Brian Lenihan's undertaking to review articles of the Constitution that affect children. The Minister told a UN committee yesterday that the Government has embarked on an "article by article" examination of the Constitution as part of an exercise to see if the voice of the child can be strengthened.

Ms van Turnhout said: "It is essential that the voice of the child is recognised in the Constitution. Until this happens, the rights of the child will be subordinate to the rights of the family. This is particularly critical for issues such as child protection, court hearings or custody issues.

"We also welcome the committee's observations on areas of concern in Ireland, including our low spend on early and primary education, not addressing the new challenges caused by obesity and alcohol and our lack of activity in the area of discrimination."

Fergus Finlay of Barnardos, the children's charity, said it was clear the Government had embarked on a "charm offensive" as part of its presentation to the UN committee.

"At the end of the day the committee will have enough information to make a strong report and are experienced enough to recognise a charm offensive," he said

The Unmarried Fathers of Ireland group, which protested outside the UN buildings in Geneva yesterday, said they were very disappointed at the lack of any commitment to address issues of children's access to their natural fathers.

Spokesman Ray Kelly said there was nothing in the Minister's remarks to give hope to the thousands of unmarried fathers and their children that issues such as joint custody or access rights were being seriously examined by the Government.

The ISPCC welcomed the "important developments" made by the Government to date, and further welcomed commitments given yesterday to make further progress.