Proposal 'must address' foster care issues

Provisions to allow for the adoption of children in long-term foster care are urgent and there is a need to include them in the proposed children's referendum, according to Minister for Justice Michael McDowell.

He gave his full backing to the Taoiseach's proposal to include children's rights, custody, care, guardianship, adoption and other matters in the referendum against the wishes of the Opposition. Other parties have called for the referendum to be confined to the protection of children against sexual predators and for further debate on rights and welfare issues.

Mr McDowell told the Dáil these provisions "which for example, will allow children in long-term fostering to be adopted are also quite urgent. They have been talked about for longer than the outcome of the A case or the issue of soft information, which is of comparatively recent origin."

The Minister asked: "At what stage should we decide that children in long-term fostering who may not be adopted are also a priority?"

Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny, said there were "no political difficulties or divisions in respect of issues of absolute defence and soft information".

These had been dealt with in considerable detail by the Oireachtas committee and could be dealt with at an early date. Mr Kenny added, however, that the issues of children's rights and welfare which "are the subject of confused or incomplete debate", could be dealt with at a later stage.

The Minister said he did not know where such "confusion is arising". He had "not heard from any of the Opposition parties any substantive objection to the provisions of this child protection amendment, about which they claim to be undecided".

It would be a different matter if the Opposition parties were to point to the issues which could cause confusion.

Deputies should "listen to the strong plea of the childcare and protection organisations for us to pursue this agenda. They do not think we should split up this Bill, thereby delaying the implementation of protections for people in foster care."