Children’s rights vote may be postponed, says Ahern

A REFERENDUM on children’s rights could be postponed until after the General Election if cross-party support on the wording and date is not obtained, the Taoiseach said yesterday.

However, if agreement is reached during forthcoming consultations with opposition parties and representative groups, a referendum could be held in five weeks.

During Taoiseach’s Questions yesterday, Mr Ahern also conceded the General Election may take in place in June.

He said if holding the referendum in June is a compromise instead of March or the autumn, he would ask his Government colleagues to accept opposition parties’ suggestion to hold the referendum on the same day as the general election.

The wording of the referendum designed to strengthen children’s rights and provide greater protection against child sexual abuse was finalised by Cabinet yesterday and will be discussed with opposition parties in the coming days.

Minister for Children Brian Lenihan is expected to bring a referendum bill before the Dáil next week.

“There is no reason a vote cannot be held in early or late March. It is a question of whether agreement can be reached among the parties,” Mr Ahern said.

“I would not propose holding a referendum on the same day as a general election. That would not be a good idea.”

The Taoiseach added, however, that if a referendum could not be held in March or early April, then the matter will have to be dealt with in the life of a new Dáil.

“I will not use the majority in the House to get this through. I have not done that in the past. I pulled a referendum late in the day on another occasion just to accommodate the Labour Party,” he said.

The Taoiseach also hinted that the electorate would be faced with more than one question to deal with the five proposed clauses to be inserted into the Constitution.

During Taoiseach’s Questions yesterday, Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny said the advice of the All-Party Committee on the Constitution was not currently being followed.

He said a Government can call a referendum within a 30-day period but there should be “real, public consultation” about the constitutional changes.

The wording of the referendum, agreed by Cabinet yesterday, is believed to propose inserting five clauses in the Constitution.

One expected change is the removal of the defence of “honest” mistake available to adults and the introduction of a “zone of absolute protection“, below which it would be automatically criminal to have sex with a child.