THE GOVERNMENT was yesterday urged by the Ombudsman for Children, Emily Logan, to give its view on the proposed wording on the constitutional amendment to protect the rights of children so as to provide clarity on the matter for the electorate when it is put to referendum.
Ms Logan said that given the length of time taken to effect change and get political agreement on the wording now proposed by the Joint Oireachtas Committee on the Constitutional Amendment on Children, it was important that matters were progressed quickly.
It’s always difficult to predict when the currents of change will gather pace and when events such as the Murphy and Ryan reports accelerate them – and for that reason, it was important to move now when there is real political and public debate about the rights of children, she said.
“I feel there is real momentum behind amending the Constitution to strengthen children’s rights at present and it is incumbent on all those in support of the amendment to contribute to that momentum,” she said.
Ms Logan pointed out that while a constitutional amendment was hugely welcome, it was but a first step and should not be seen in itself as a panacea for all the failings of the current system with regard to children as a change of mental habits was also required.
“Giving life to the principles enunciated in the proposed amendment will require a concerted effort on the part of the Oireachtas, Government departments, statutory bodies, the judiciary, service providers and others to make sure the State fulfils its obligations to children in Ireland.”
Ms Logan said that from her experience, the absence of clearer protection for children’s rights in the Constitution has had an adverse effect on children across a wide range of areas and the proposed amendment would provide a direction for decision makers.
Among the organs of the State with which her office deals most regularly are the Oireachtas, the HSE and schools, Ms Logan told a seminar on children’s rights organised by the Centre for Criminal Justice and Human Rights at UCC.
Dr Conor O’Mahony, of UCC law faculty, told the seminar that the deference shown by the State to the family based on marriage in the Constitution has defined the State’s approach to the treatment of children in law, policy and practice. However, the proposed amendment had the potential to bring about a sea change in the way children are treated in Irish law, policy and practice, he said.
The publication of the Ryan report into child abuse may have been the tipping point but no date has been set yet for the referendum and there’s no guarantee that the wording as proposed won’t be altered before a referendum or even that it will be passed by the people.
Public consultation exercises had shown significant opposition to any attempt to alter the protection afforded to the marital family by the Constitution, he said.
This was often due to suspicion of the UN Convention on the Rights of Children and fears of excessive State intervention in family affairs and highlighted the need for a detailed and lengthy public debate so that people can base their decision on the best information available.