Any “legal stumbling blocks” in the way of the promised referendum on children’s rights must be overcome, an Oireachtas committee has heard today.
Caroline O’Sullivan from Irish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (ISPCC) told the committee on health and children the charity welcomed the recommendations of the cross-party committee chaired by Fianna Fáil TD Mary O’Rourke.
The committee produced a report in February proposing a referendum that could result in a new article 42 in the Constitution, but a date for a referendum has not yet been set.
Ms O’Sullivan said Minister of State for Children Barry Andrews had today suggested there were “legal stumbling blocks”. She said the nature of these obstacles was not clear but they needed to be overcome.
Meanwhile, legislation to vet individuals working with children was still not in place, Ms O’Sullivan said. She said this was having a hugely negative impact on organisations working with children across the country.
Committee chairman Seán O’Fearghail of Fianna Fáil said the findings of the both the Murphy and Ryan reports laid bare some of the serious shortcomings which were prevalent in the way the State treated vulnerable children.
"While there have been advancements in child care practices in latter years, the recent accounts regarding the deaths of young people while in care of the State show that gaps still exist in the service," he said.
