The absence of a national, rights-based policy on children was strongly criticised in the Dail yesterday. The Democratic Left spokeswoman on justice, Ms Liz McManus, said thousands of Irish children were being failed by a "ridiculously fragmented and at times chaotic range" of State services. She was speaking during a debate on the report of the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child, which found there were a number of inadequacies in existing services here.
Among the areas which required attention, Ms McManus said, were the lack of access to remedial teaching and the shortage of emergency accommodation for children at risk. She said the accommodation problem had become so serious that leaving a child in an abusive situation was often seen as the preferred option. "Despite the economic growth, life for many children is becoming more unequal, more exploitative and sometimes more dangerous," she said.
The Minister of State for Health and Children, Mr Frank Fahey, said people should bear in mind the UN committee's role was not "to award plaudits" but to criticise. He rejected as "somewhat unfair" the committee's view that the potential of NGOs in contributing to the development of children's rights had not been fully recognised. On the issue of a children's ombudsman, he confirmed the establishment of such a body was not a priority for this year.
The Fine Gael spokesman on health and children, Mr Alan Shatter, said the Government had yet to originate a single piece of legislation relating to children or childcare. "The best interests of the child are not being properly protected, in reality, in this State," he said.