Constitution ‘denies children rights’

THE Constitution is denying the rights of over 2,000 foster care children to belong to a family, it was claimed yesterday.

Ombudsman for Children Emily Logan said this “cruel situation” is allowed to continue because the rights of the family in the 1937 document supersede those of children.

Speaking at yesterday’s hearings of the Oireachtas Committee on the Constitution, Ms Logan said: “The bottom line is that constitutionally, parents have inalienable rights which render the rights of children subordinate. It is time that Ireland as a society acknowledges that children too are independent and individual holders of rights.”

Ms Logan, who was appointed Ombudsman a year ago, urged the committee to consider the needs of vulnerable children for whom constitutional protection was vital.

“Above anything else, what I hear from children and young people is a desire to be part of a family.

“However, this cannot happen because of the conflict between the constitutional parental right and the child’s desire to have a family. These children remain invisible, their voices not heard. They’re excluded from enjoying the stability and the loving environment afforded to most children.

“This is not just difficult for them. This is a very cruel situation considering we have 2,000 children living in long-term foster care situations.” Children don’t have specific rights in the Constitution as Article 41 protects the family unit based on marriage.

This has meant it is almost impossible to adopt the children of married parents even though some of those children may spend their entire childhood in long-term foster care. It is also difficult for the State to intervene in families where abuse has taken place.

Ms Logan said the Kilkenny incest case - in which a girl was continually assaulted and raped by her father from 1976 to 1991 - highlighted how the Constitution had failed children.

“You saw a situation where a child was left in a vulnerable situation, not just the child but the family in a difficult circumstance that went on for a long period and is totally unacceptable in this day.”

The committee needed to study the findings of three recent reports and incorporate them into the Constitution, Ms Logan said.

She referred to the Kilkenny Incest Committee Investigation Report 1993, the Report of the Constitutional Review Group 1996 and the UN Committee Recommendations 1998.

The Oireachtas Committee on the Constitution, chaired by Fianna Fáil TD Denis O’Donovan, began hearing submissions last week on the role of the family in the 1937 document.

It is due to conclude hearings this week and compile a report.