Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Thursday, 12 Dec 1996

Vol. 472 No. 8

Adjournment Debate. - European Social Policy.

Miss Coughlan

Tá an-áthas orm seans a fháil le rud éigin a rá i dtaobh an ábhar seo. We are into the last two weeks of the Irish Presidency of the EU and there are many expectations. Like many organisations, I feel we have a once-off opportunity to amend the Maastricht Treaty with regard to the rights of children. There are 120 million children in the EU yet it is difficult to believe that they are excluded from European social policy and many, if not all, the EU programmes which have developed over years.

Will the Minister of State, Deputy Burton, and the Minister of State, Deputy Gay Mitchell, again raise within the Intergovernmental Conference discussions the eight amendments proposed by Focus on Children and the European Children's Network, known as Euronet, who have lobbied the Governments to ensure and clarify the situation with regard to the citizenship right of children?

It is unfortunate that the rights of children have been infringed on many occasions and we know that a unanimous decision was made by the European Parliament in Strasbourg on 19 September with regard to the sexual exploitation and abuse of children, child prostitution and the increased threat from the use of the internet by paedophile networks.

I know that the Government is considering tabling an amendment to address that matter, and I would welcome that. I believe the Government is looking at age discrimination, and references to paedophilia and abuse being encompassed.

I also hope there will be an overall focus with regard to the rights of children. I know that Minister of State, Deputy Gay Mitchell, said that the legal advice which was given to him at the time indicated that children's rights were, in fact, encompassed in the Treaty, yet I believe he said he would go back to the legal people who were advising the Council of Ministers on the matter and re-examine whether that legal advice would stand up. There is a need for clarification on the matter.

I want to refer to one amendment which has been proposed by Focus on Children and Euronet, the addition of the following new third paragraph to Title II, Part Two Citizenship of the Union, Article 8:3. Children shall enjoy the rights of other citizens of the Union with the exception of those matters excluded to minors by law.

I believe there is general national and Union consensus on the intention to cover children and young people within the EU Treaty but when we go beyond intentions, and people, especially legal people, drag through words, sentences and innuendo, there are concerns that perhaps it would not stand up and that there is no clarity in the Treaty. Therefore, I ask the Minister of State in the last two or three weeks of the Irish Presidency to give leadership to ensure this matter is clarified and amendments tabled to the Maastricht Treaty to ensure what we all want but perhaps have not clarified, that children have the same rights as any other citizen within the EU. I ask the Minister of State to consider that, in particular, because children are the future, not only of this nation but of the EU.

With the awful atrocities which have been perpetrated against children not only in Ireland but in Belgium, in particular, this year, I hope we do not need a crisis to amend the Treaty. I also hope the Minister will ensure that if amendments are needed, which I believe is the case, they will be included and that Ireland will take the leadership role to ensure children's rights are encompassed in one of the most important treaties of the EU.

Ms Burton

The Intergovernmental Conference has been asked to address three main areas: first, bringing the Union closer to its citizens, secondly, giving the Union a greater capacity for external action, including by strengthening and enlarging the scope of the Union's common foreign and security policy; and, thirdly, ensuring the effective functioning of institutions and the efficiency of the decision-making process, including in the context of further enlargement.

It is clear that the Intergovernmental Conference must not lose sight of the fact that while institutional and other questions are a necessary part of the Intergovernmental Conference's agenda, the people's verdict on the outcome of the Intergovernmental Conference will be governed largely by the extent to which it addresses and is seen to address the direct concerns of citizens. We have made it clear that the overriding objective for our Presidency as a whole, of which the Intergovernmental Conference is one important part, is to contribute to the advancement of Europe in a manner which corresponds to the aspirations of its peoples, relevant to their everyday concerns and responsive to their needs. Deputy Coughlan's question on the need to protect children concerns an issue which is unquestionably of direct concern to citizens.

Much is being done on the basis of the present EU Treaty. The Justice and Home Affairs Ministers, for example, to which Deputy Coughlan referred, acted very rapidly at their recent meeting when they adopted four joint actions to enhance co-operation in this area and step up co-operation against organised paedophilia and trafficking in persons.

The Intergovernmental Conference has been convened specifically to consider amendments to the Treaty, which is in a sense the Constitution of the European Union. Any progress in that regard would complement progress in the ongoing day-to-day functioning of the Union.

The draft outline Treaty presented by the Irish Presidency proposes that the Treaty provisions on Justice and Home Affairs are strengthened to develop a Union in which people can live without fear of threats to their personal security. It is clear that a strengthening of the Treaty provisions in this area will contribute to making the Union more responsive to the needs of all citizens, including our younger citizens. In this regard we have, as Presidency, proposed very significantly strenghening the objectives of the Union in the fight against international crime including, specifically, trafficking in persons and crimes against children as well as the means at the disposal of the Union in pursuing those objectives.

Under the broad heading of fundamental rights in the draft outline Treaty the Irish Presidency has put forward a proposal to strengthen the non-discrimination principle in the Treaty. The Presidency's approach suggests the establishment of a legal basis in the Treaty which would permit the Council to adopt appropriate legislative provisions in respect of discrimination. Discrimination on the grounds of age is one of the aspects specifically covered in this regard.

The Irish Presidency's document proposes draft texts on several other areas, such as employment, which are designed to address the concerns of all citizens and which have a particular relevance for younger citizens. The draft outline Treaty is a Presidency document. Delegations are not asked to sign up to it as a text in all its details. It represents a good basis for further work with a view to seeking final agreement under the Netherlands Presidency at the Amsterdam European Council on a treaty which would equip the Union to address the challenges ahead and to respond to the needs of citizens. Unanimous agreement will, of course, be required for all Treaty changes. We are very encouraged by the positive reaction from other member states to our document and to its ambitions for Europe. The organisations to which Deputy Coughlan referred are among a number that put forward extremely positive proposals that need to be framed in constitutional language. They offer an exciting view of Europe and facilitate explaining in simple language complicated matters that are in the interests of parents and their children. I thank the Deputy for raising this matter.