Children’s rights - Delay hard to accept

IT is hard to imagine that a society that has had its failings laid bare by the Ryan, Ferns and Murphy reports; a society that has seen so many vulnerable children die while in the care of the State and, most frighteningly of all, seen scores of immigrant children and minors disappear without trace, should need to be badgered into holding a referendum on children’s rights.

Yet, as the Dáil breaks up for its summer break without setting a date for a promised referendum, the Ombudsman for Children Emily Logan had to use the occasion of the publication of her annual report yesterday to reiterate – again – that we urgently need to confront the issues involved. Wording on such a measure was agreed by a cross-party group almost six months ago so the delay is hard to accept.