Debate must be opened up on the rights of the child
Sunday Tribune 28 November 2004 

Children’s rights require more recognition in our Constitution. In 1990 the Irish Government signed the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. We ratified the Convention in 1992, and in 1998 the then Minister of State at the Department of Health Frank Fahey TD asked the All Party Oireachtas Committee on the Constitution to examine the issue. The wheels of change may move slowly, but it is now clearly time to consider whether constitutional change is necessary to vindicate those rights. 

The Committee felt that children’s rights are best examined in the context of family rights. That is why the All Party Oireachtas Committee on the Constitution is currently inviting submissions. Every country in the world, except Somalia and the USA, has ratified this Convention making it the most accepted human rights treaty in history. By ratifying the Convention, Ireland committed itself to taking all legislative and administrative steps to implement the Articles contained. The family unit is strongly defended within that Convention which states that the family is the fundamental group of society and the natural environment for the growth and well-being of all its members and particularly children. 

Article Two of the UN Convention says that States shall take all appropriate measures to ensure that the child is protected against all forms of discrimination or punishment on the basis of the status, activities, expressed opinions, or beliefs of the child's parents, legal guardians, or family members. Since the passing of the Citizenship Referendum last June several Irish Citizen children have been forced out of Ireland by virtue of their Parent’ deportation. It is important that those children’s rights are upheld. Many would argue that such deportations go against both spirit and the letter of the Convention.

Our Constitution is 67 years old this year. Some of its Articles have not aged as well as others and could benefit from revision. The provision in Article 41.2.2 that “mothers shall not by obliged by economic necessity to engage in labour to the neglect of their duties in the home.” appears dated to many. Not that there aren’t duties in the home anymore, but many would argue that fathers should be more involved in family duties. With those responsibilities come rights, and many fathers in relationships that have broken down irrevocably believe that their rights as well as responsibilities require more formal recognition. 

While examining family rights, it is also appropriate to consider other changes in Irish life that emerged since the Constitution was first drafted. In her article last Sunday Dana Rosemary Scallon skirts around the issue same-sex marriage. I believe that the right to marry should be available between those of the same sex. While many people in gay and lesbian relationship favour Civil Unions, and do not wish to go as far as marriage, the option should at least be available. Back in the 1960’s in South Africa and the United States there were those who felt that equal but separate status was all that was necessary to end discrimination, but Martin Luther King’s dream was based on equality, rather than separation or segregation. 

Civil Marriage should also be elevated in importance. Many County Councils consign such ceremonies to a dreary office block at the far end of an industrial estate. In Rome, the ceremony takes place amidst much pomp and ceremony on the Campidoglio in a building designed by Michelangelo. We should allow our City and County Halls to host such ceremonies in order to give them the recognition and importance that they deserve. 

Legal Recognition of Cohabitees should also be examined. Statutes such as the Family Home Protection Act do not apply to those who may have lived together for many years. This requires examination in the context of examining the role of the family in our constitution. The Committee on the Constitution is inviting submissions up until the end of January. I look forward to the debate and discussions that will ensue.

Ciarán Cuffe is a Green Party TD for Dún Laoghaire and is the Party’s Justice Spokesperson and is a member of the All Party Oireachtas Committee on the Constitution.