An amendment to the Manstricht Treaty designed to protect the rights of children should be proposed by the Government, according to the child welfare group, Focus on Children.
The group's director, Mr Sean Lawless, said that the Government should take a leadership role during its Presidency of the European Union and propose an amendment to the treaty. Recent events in Belgium had highlighted the desperate need to protect children, he said.
"We know that paedophiles are active in Ireland and yet the Irish Government, for reasons best known to itself, is reluctant to include children's rights in the Maastricht Treaty," he added.
