THE GOVERNMENT has signalled that it may introduce new laws to strengthen child protection as an alternative to holding a divisive referendum on the issue.
Senior sources say there is little desire among political parties to hold a promised referendum on child protection following the fall-out of last week's Lisbon Treaty. Instead, a range of legislative options which may not need a change to the Constitution are being explored.
These include laws which could allow for the sharing of "soft information" relating to suspected sex offenders; to protect young people from sexual assault, while allowing for a defence of honest mistake relating to the age of the young person; to protect young rape victims from adversarial cross-examination.
The chairwoman of the Joint Oireachtas Committee on the Constitutional Amendment for Children Mary O'Rourke said last night there was a "growing feeling in the committee" that as much as possible could be achieved by legislation.
"That's not to say that there won't be a referendum, but the main task facing us is to ensure the safety of young girls and women in general," she said.
The committee has asked its legal advisers - following a suggestion from its vice-chairman Michael Noonan TD - to draw up a framework document setting out the various options available to the committee that may not require a referendum.
At the publication of a Barnardos guide to early childhood education yesterday, Minister for Children and Youth Affairs Barry Andrews said he hoped as much as possible could be achieved by way of legislation.
"We want to impose a legal framework [on these issues] and whether a referendum is required will be put to a debate . . . it may well be that we will require a referendum," he said.
"Our position is that we will let the Oireachtas committee do its business."
Mr Andrews also welcomed plans by the Labour Party to draft a Bill to deal with the issue of protecting young people from sexual assault without going to a constitutional amendment. The need to strengthen child protection laws follows the striking down of the offence of statutory rape by the courts almost two years ago.
This "C" case involved a 23- year-old man whose conviction for the statutory rape of a 14-year-old was deemed unconstitutional as it did not allow a defence of "honest mistake" as to the girl's age.
Meanwhile, the new book published by Barnardos aims to help parents and childcare providers deal with difficult and challenging situations involving children, such as a child disclosing child abuse.
At the book's launch, Barnardos chief executive Fergus Finlay said the importance of ensuring children had access to quality care and education was vital.