Bernard Allen
Ceist:295 Mr. Allen asked the Minister for Health and Children his plans to introduce a children's rights Bill which would impose a legal obligation on the State to provide facilities which would protect children's rights. [7689/01]
Vol. 532 No. 4
295 Mr. Allen asked the Minister for Health and Children his plans to introduce a children's rights Bill which would impose a legal obligation on the State to provide facilities which would protect children's rights. [7689/01]
The area of children's rights is a complex one. Both historically and constitutionally, the family has been the unit of society which received special protection, and children's rights have been taken into account within this unit. The Constitution Review Group in its report published in 1996 made a number of recommendations in this area. The all-party committee on the Constitution is currently considering the report of the Constitution Review Group and this committee has been requested, on behalf of the Government, to prioritise its consideration of the issue of the constitutional underpinning of individual children's rights.
296 Mr. Allen asked the Minister for Health and Children the plans he has to hold a referendum to guarantee the specific rights of children who have been identified in High Court rulings as being at risk at the same time as the referendum on the Treaty of Nice. [7816/01]
The High Court has already identified the rights of children at risk as being based on the Constitution in Mr Justice Geoghegan's 1995 judgment in the FN case. Accordingly, I am not convinced that there is a need for a specific amendment of the Constitution in this regard.
The all-party committee on the Constitution is considering the report of the Constitution Review Group and this committee has been requested, on behalf of the Government, to prioritise its consideration of the issue of the constitutional underpinning of individual children's rights.