Voters will be guided by fact rather than fear

Many of the reasons put forward to vote no have been worrying at best and downright terrifying at worst, says Ashley Balbirnie

The Yes for Cchildren campaign has travelled the country in our multi-coloured campaign bus, visiting 42 locations across 26 counties. From Maynooth, Midleton, and Tralee to Monaghan, Boyle, and Letterkenny, with many more in between, we saw the campaign develop from four weeks ago, when there was almost total ignorance about the referendum itself, never mind the big issues.

The value of this exercise has been immeasurable. The opportunity to speak with people in their communities, towns, and cities has yielded great discussion, debate, and, above all, awareness-raising. It also provided insight into the commitment of people in relation to child protection and valuing childhood.

The passion to ensure that children are recognised within our Constitution was clearly apparent, but so too was a certain amount of confusion and, in some cases, complete misunderstanding. Such misunderstandings were due in the most part to the tremendous amount of inaccuracies and misinformation being communicated by those who oppose the amendment. On our journey around the country, speaking with the public, answering questions and allaying such fears, it is fair to say that many of the alleged reasons to vote no have been worrying at best and downright terrifying at worst. Amongst the scariest reasons have been:

* “The Freemasons are taking over the world and this is part of their plan to take over Ireland.”

* “It is a way of introducing child labour.”

* “It means female genital mutilation will come into Ireland.”

* “Europe will then adopt all of our children.”

* “Children have plenty of rights — something should be done about the animals.”

The fact that these objections were so obscure made them comparatively easy to deal with. What was more difficult was the ongoing campaign by the no side to somehow position the issue as a child versus family contest. This could not be further from the truth:

* Changing the Constitution will allow Ireland to switch from a system that seeks to judge if a parent has failed to a system that bases services on the needs of each individual child.

* It will allow the State to support families when they are in need, rather than waiting until they are in crisis. Early intervention can help prevent future breakdowns and reduces the risk of abuse.

* Parents are the strongest advocates for their children. The amendment is about giving children, and their parents on their behalf, more leverage to hold the State accountable for its responsibility to protect the interests of all children.

* It will allow for the adoption of many children who are effectively trapped in long-term care and give them a second chance at having a loving and stable family.

* The fear of the State having a “heavy hand” in families is unfounded, as processes of engaging with families and bringing cases before the courts will remain in place. These processes will be enhanced due to the focus on the best interests of the child and hearing the views of the child in such deliberations.

We at Yes for Children have seen the thirst for information, we have seen the impact of blatant scare-mongering, but we have also seen people’s ability to see through this and their desire to vote for the right reasons; reasons that are rooted in fact rather than fear.

We have seen enough to be confident that we the people will cast our vote on Nov 10 to ensure that this generation and future generations of children in Ireland are better protected, respected, and heard. We will, in short, say Yes for Children.

* Ashley Balbirnie, chief executive of ISPCC, working with Yes for Children