Lenihan resists calls for constitutional reform

MINISTER for Children Brian Lenihan has resisted calls for urgent constitutional reform to protect the rights of the child following yesterday’s landmark ruling by the Supreme Court in the case of Baby Ann.

Various childcare organisations and opposition political parties urged the Government to consider staging a referendum to provide specific recognition of the rights of the child in light of existing deficiencies in constitutional protections afforded to children which were highlighted by the controversial case.

However, Mr Lenihan said it was still too early to say if constitutional change was necessary after the Supreme Court decided that the two-year-old girl should be returned to the care of her natural parents.

The junior minister said he would first have to examine each of the judgments of the five members of the Supreme Court before reaching any conclusions. But, he accepted that it showed the wisdom of the recent announcement made by the Taoiseach, Bertie Ahern, that the issue required examination.

Mr Lenihan said he was troubled by the length of time it took to arrive at a definitive conclusion to the custodial dispute over Baby Ann, even allowing for the case’s complexity.

“There is no doubt there is an issue to be addressed and the issue was to ensure that in any dispute regarding custody that the best interests of the child prevail,” said Mr Lenihan. “If the Supreme Court is saying that is the case, well and good. If they are saying there is a constraint on that stemming from the Constitution, then we have to address it.”

The Irish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children and the Children’s Rights Alliance expressed concern that the ruling appeared to be based on supporting the primacy of married parents under the Constitution rather than the best interests of the child.

Both the Irish Foster Care Association and the Adoptive Parents’ Association claimed there were “no winners” in the case and called for a tightening of legislation to provide greater certainty for the role of foster and adoptive parents.

The organisations also warned of the potential damage which could be caused to baby Ann by returning her to her natural parents because of the bond which she had formed with her foster parents.

Meanwhile, the Adoption Board is due to discuss the judgment at its weekly board meeting later today.

Family law expert, Geoffrey Shannon, said the case highlighted deficiencies in Irish adoption law and in particular, the potentially different treatment between the children of married and unmarried parents.

It also exposed the absence of children’s rights in the Constitution and the impact of such an omission on the welfare of the children, according to Mr Shannon.

However, he said the Supreme Court’s decision was unsurprising because of the crucial fact that baby Ann’s parents were now a married couple which afforded them additional constitutional rights.

“The Supreme Court had no option, in my opinion, but to come to the conclusion that it arrived at,” said Mr Shannon.