Barnardos welcome appointment of Rapporteurs

Children’s charity Barnardos today welcomed the appointment of special Rapporteurs to audit legal developments for the protection of children.

Barnardos chief executive Fergus Finlay said of the appointments of Professor Finbarr McAuley and solicitor Geoffrey Shannon by Minister for Children Brian Lenihan were a positive step.

“This is a very welcome move by the minister and an important step in the protection of children in Ireland,” said Finlay.

“The fact that the Rapporteurs are highly-regarded legal experts who are independent and accountable to the Oireachtas takes us another step closer to ensuring children in Ireland are more fully protected in the eyes of the law."

“We in Barnardos, however, are convinced that a glaring gap currently exists in the legal framework and that the constitutional rights of children need to be addressed as a matter of priority.”

Mr Finlay went on to welcome the Lenihan’s commitment to putting in place a process whereby the voices of teenagers are heard in relation to the debate around the age of sexual consent:

“Empowering children to speak on an issue that impacts their lives is a key strand of the National Children’s Strategy and the UN Convention on the Rights of the Children.

“Importantly, it also aligns with the Ombudsman for Children’s remit, which ensures that children’s views on policies that affect their rights and their welfare are reported to the Oireachtas.

“We look forward to seeing the implementation of such a process in the hope that children’s voices really will be listened to and that the process can be reproduced with other issues impacting on children’s lives.”