The issue of protecting children from sexual predators should be dealt with by legislation rather than referendum, Fianna Fáil TD Mary O’Rourke said yesterday.
Her comments were described as “bizarre” by Fine Gael spokesman on children Alan Shatter, who said Fianna Fáil was simply seeking to avoid another referendum in the wake of the defeat of the Lisbon Treaty.
Speaking in Ballina, Co Mayo, where she was attending the Humbert Summer School, Ms O’Rourke, who chairs the Oireachtas Joint Committee on the Constitutional Amendment on Children, said there was a consensus on the committee – apart from Fine Gael – that the issue would be addressed by legislation and there was no need for a constitutional amendment on that aspect of children’s rights.
“The law can be hardened and firmed up on that, but there is a need for a referendum on what you might call ‘pure’ children’s rights, [putting] the rights of a child on a par with the rights of adults,” she said.
“There is a need for a referendum on that but what we must do first is move to shore up the provisions and the law against predators and people preying on under-age girls,” she said. Other issues such as the sharing of “soft information” could also be dealt with through legislation.
However, Mr Shatter said afterwards: “It is my view that because of what happened with Lisbon, the Government are seeking to avoid being embroiled in another constitutional referendum and are now misrepresenting the legal position with regard to the protection of children.
“It is quite clear from the regular comments made by the chair of the committee, which I believe are inappropriate, and the comments by the new Minister for Children Barry Andrews that they are effectively running some sort of ill-considered public relations campaign to deflect attention from the need for a referendum.”
Mr Shatter pointed out that Director of Public Prosecutions James Hamilton had stated that a constitutional amendment was necessary and lawyers appointed to advise the committee on criminal law had made a similar recommendation.
Mr Shatter described the comments by Ms O’Rourke and Mr Andrews as “quite bizarre”. He continued: “They are suffering from ‘referendumitis’.”