Society failing to teach children about justice

One of society's greatest shortcomings has been its failure to teach children about justice, the Parnell Summer School was told yesterday.

Dr Colm Ó Cuanacháin, secretary general of Amnesty International's Irish section said it was essential that issues such as human rights, equality and justice were on the school agenda.

"If you were to ask me what was the greatest failure in Irish society today, it is the failure to teach children about justice.

"It is the failure to teach children about participation, it is the failure to teach children about empowerment, about understanding and attitudes that drive equality and justice.

"If we can do that, we can take another leap forward in the direction that Michael Davitt would have set out for Ireland and the world," he said. This year's Parnell Summer School theme is "Forgotten Hero: Michael Davitt and Irish Democracy."

Dr Ó Cuanacháin said Davitt was "the first real humanitarian to come from Ireland".

While much social progress had been made in this State since Davitt died 100 years ago, the Land League founder would have been "outraged" at the situation abroad where 25 million people in sub-Saharan Africa had HIV/Aids and he would have been "horrified" that 280 million children were at work in sweatshops, factories or the sex industry, Dr Ó Cuanacháin said.

Highlighting Davitt's support for the Jewish community, he asked what Davitt would have thought of the treatment of ethnic minorities in this State.

"Basically there's no formal anti-racism education programmes in our schools. There's no adequate legislation to deal with racism-related crime," he said.

Dr Ó Cuanacháin asked what Davitt would have thought of the State's failure to provide support structures for people with disabilities while the Exchequer was "awash with money".

He said there was no accountability in the Government's appointment of an investigator to look into the prison killing of Gary Douch in Mountjoy.

An appointment was made "of an investigator who's clearly part of the internal machine," he said.

Minister for Justice Michael McDowell appointed Michael Mellett, former deputy secretary in the Department of Justice, to investigate the killing.