The appointment of a Minister for Children with a seat at the Cabinet table was a moment of genuine radical thinking in an area – the structure of government in Ireland – that has for the most part tended to evolve slowly and cautiously. A "department of children" had existed since the 1950s, but its marginal role could be gleaned from its regular shunting between larger departments in which it was merely one part among many. The decision in 2011 to have children represented at Cabinet by a senior minister was of both symbolic and practical value.
Symbolic, because, for a State with such a miserable record in caring for its most vulnerable young people, this was an important statement that the interests of the child would be taken into account in every major decision taken by Government.
Practical, because with Cabinet rank comes authority and influence. And few could seriously argue that it was not needed. As recently as last year, around 100,000 children were living in consistent poverty. Beyond that, our young people face a range of problems that affect them specifically as children and can only be addressed by policies focused on them as children. Neglecting those problems, such as access to education and healthcare, stores up problems for the future. Addressing them is vital to the achievement of a real republic of equals.
Rumours that the department could be downgraded or abolished under the next government are therefore very worrying. If there was a good argument for the status quo before the coronavirus pandemic, there is an even stronger one now. Children are badly affected by the current crisis, with their school life on hold, their State exams thrown into uncertainty, their socialisation curtailed and their normal lives completely upended.
For disadvantaged and vulnerable children, the effects of losing out on school or having no opportunities to mix outside the home can be particularly difficult. And the economic fallout we face as we emerge from the crisis will leave those same children even more exposed.