Historic calls for constitutional reform
Constitutional reform in respect of children’s rights is not new - it was first discussed in the Oireachtas over 30 years ago.
Seanad Éireann - Volume 84 - 07 July, 1976 Adoption Bill, 1976: Second Stage (Resumed)
Mrs. Robinson: First, I would like to refer to the legal role of the board and indeed the possibility of constitutional infirmity in the discharge of responsibilities by the board. I would hazard a guess that it is this aspect that is higher on the priority of the Government in considering a constitutional amendment than indeed the intention to insert some change in relation to safeguarding the welfare of the child. It is an apprehension that the Adoption Board may not be constitutional under the present relevant sections of our Constitution which is prompting the introduction of a Government Bill to amend the Constitution which will necessitate a referendum in the autumn…
…This leads me to consider reaction to and, indeed, even to the contents of this present Adoption Bill. It is a limited Bill to respond to a very serious tragedy and crisis in adoption in Ireland. But the reaction has been very much to paper over some of the defects that I have been talking about, to paper over examination of the more basic principles. If that is to be the response, then we are not going to have an outcome of a broad-based reform of the law in line with the Charter on Children's Rights which I read out, or in line with the aspirations for a balanced adoption law and procedure.
Dáil Éireann - Volume 308 - 24 October, 1978
Private Members' Business. - An Bille um an Séú Leasú ar an mBunreacht, 1978: An Dara Céim. Sixth Amendment of the Constitution Bill, 1978: Second Stage.
Mrs. Desmond: Tairgím: “Go léifear an Bille an Dara hUair.”
I move: “That the Bill be now read a Second Time.”
This Bill to amend the 1937 Constitution has three distinct purposes, each of which aims to secure the rights of children. The first and immediate purpose is to ensure that adoptions are safeguarded and made constitutionally secure. The other purposes come within the broader ambit of children's rights, towards which we, the legislators, should be addressing our minds as we approach 1979, the year of the child. These other purposes are the removal of discrimination against illegitimate children and the extension of the category of children who can be legally adopted.
Recent calls for constitutional reform
Fresh impetus to the debate came on 3 November 2006, when the then Taoiseach, Bertie Ahern TD, announced his intention to amend the now outdated Constitution to strengthen the rights of children. All of the main political parties have also committed to making children visible in the Constitution, both in the 2007 and 2011 General Election manifestos.
The new Programme for Government pledges to hold a referendum along the lines recommended by the Joint Committee.
The Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, Frances Fitzgerald TD, has committed to review the wording for the amendment put forward by the Joint Committee and wording produced (but not published) by the previous Coalition Government. The Minister will be advised by the Attorney General in her deliberations. The Minister has stated on numerous occasions that constitutional reform is a key objective for her new Department of Children and Youth Affairs.
€3m has been earmarked in the past two Budgets for the holding of a children’s rights referendum. The Alliance continues to call on the new Government to act on the Joint Committee’s recommendations and set a date for a referendum to strengthen children’s rights as a matter of priority.
Joint Committee on the Constitutional Amendment on Children
The Joint Committee on the Constitutional Amendment on Children was established on 22 November 2007, in line with a commitment in the June 2007 Programme for Government to deepen consensus on the Twenty Eighth Amendment of the Constitution Bill 2007. The terms of reference for the Committee were to examine, and consider, the proposal for a constitutional amendment to strengthen children’s rights contained in the Twenty-Eighth Amendment of the Constitution Bill 2007, and to make recommendations to the two houses of the Oireachtas. In its third and final report, published in Febrary 2010, the Committee made recommendations in relation to the proposed constitutional amendment concerning the acknowledgement and protection of the rights of children, the best interests of the child, the power of the state to intervene in the family, and adoption. Historically, the Committee’s report included proposed wording for a constitutional amendment that has All Party support.
The 2011 Programme for Government made a commitment to strengthen children's rights in the Constitution along the lines recommended by the Joint Committee on the Constitutional Amendment on Children.