Madam, - You reported recently that Minister for Children Barry Andrews said the child protection issues facing the Joint Committee on the Constitutional Amendment on Children may be best dealt with through legislation, rather than constitutional change.
We welcome the committee's intention to explore all options, including legislative proposals where appropriate.
The fact remains, however, that the Government promised to the people of Ireland and, more importantly, to the children of Ireland that it would seek to place children's rights at the centre of our Constitution. We all know the only way to reform the Constitution is by referendum.
Constitutional change has been recommended time and again by national bodies and by the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child. Amending the Constitution to respect children's rights is not a theoretical exercise; Irish society no longer believes, and has not believed for some time, that children should be seen and not heard.
A referendum to strengthen children's rights is the only means available to the Government to respect the recommendations of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child and to honour its promise. - Yours, etc,
JILLIAN VAN TURNHOUT,
Chief Executive, Children's Rights Alliance,
Upper Mount Street,
Dublin 2.