Madam, – Today (September 28th) marks the 18th anniversary of Ireland’s ratification of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. Children born on that historic day in 1992 reach adulthood today. Happy Birthday! So did our ratification of the convention make a difference to their childhoods? In 1992, there was no Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, no Ombudsman for Children, no Dáil na nÓg. Considerable progress has been made in the intervening years. However, 18 years on, many of the principles of the convention are still not a reality in Ireland.
On the two occasions that the UN assessed Ireland’s progress, it provided us with a long “to do” list. Top of this list, I believe, is the need to strengthen children’s rights in the Constitution. All political parties have endorsed the holding of a children’s rights referendum and have even agreed wording; but a date has yet to be set. Today, we call on the Government to celebrate the 18th anniversary by naming a date for a referendum so that children born today will live in a society where their rights are visible and protected by the Constitution. – Yours, etc,