Sir, – Following the horrific report by the Inspector of Prisons into conditions within St Patrick’s Institution (Home News, October 17th) that unveils systematic violation of the rights of children and young people in the prison, Empowering People in Care (Epic) calls for an end to the detention of children in St Patrick’s Institution ahead of the deadline of 2014 as a matter of urgency.
Given that many of the children and young people within the prison had at some time been victims of physical or sexual abuse (as outlined by the Inspector of Prisons within this report), and some may have been or still were within the care of the HSE, the degrading treatment, intimidation and abuse are all the more shocking and inhumane.
At a time when Ireland seeks to amend its Constitution to grant children specific rights it seems even more appalling that yet another report is added to a long series of earlier ones which outlined how we in Ireland have failed our children and young people, particularly the most vulnerable and invisible in our society. We as a society now have an opportunity to speak out for children’s rights.
By voting Yes on November 10th we can strengthen children’s rights in our constitutional and hopefully end the disgraceful practices outlined in this report. – Yours, etc,
Sir, – Dan Sheehan (October 18th) is only partially correct when he says that the issue of abortion has no place in the debate on the children’s rights referendum. Legally speaking, the two issues are clearly separate.
Politically speaking, however, they are not. Before Fine Gael entered into Government it promised to hold a referendum on children’s rights and promised not to introduce abortion into Ireland. For many that seemed like a perfectly consistent response to the welfare of all children, born and unborn. And while it is following through on its former commitment, there are worrying signs that this may not be the case regarding its latter commitment.
A perceived inconsistency on these commitments will affect Fine Gael voters’ attitudes towards the party, and, if other referendums are anything to go by, may well impact on either the turnout or the vote in the children’s rights referendum. – Yours, etc,