A UN committee will tomorrow call on the Government to change the Constitution in order to introduce a stronger protection regime for children at risk of abuse.
The Irish Times has learned that the Geneva-based committee will express concern that the wording of the Constitution does not allow the State to intervene in cases of abuse, except in very exceptional cases.
The committee, which questioned a Government delegation led by Minister for Children Brian Lenihan last week on its progress in protecting children's rights, will also express concern at:
The new age of criminal responsibility, which means children as young as 10 may be found guilty of a serious criminal offences, such as murder and serious sexual assault. It will say this is not consistent with the provisions of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child
The lack of full implementation of the Children Act, which provides for a range of alternatives to detention for children such as community sanctions. Many of these have yet to be implemented.
Plans to introduce biometric ID cards for children, as well as adults, as provided for under new immigration legislation proposed by the Government
The exclusion of children in detention or prison from the remit of the Ombudsman for Children
The committee, however, is expected to welcome the Government's progress across some areas. They include the establishment of the Office of the Minister for Children and the appointment of a Minister for Children who, for the first time, sits at the Cabinet table.
The UN committee's recommendation on amending the Constitution will come at an important time by adding momentum to calls for a referendum on the issue.
Mr Lenihan told the committee last week he had embarked on an "article-by- article" review of the Constitution insofar as it related to children. The process has the support of the Taoiseach, he said, and would be completed shortly.
An Oireachtas committee on child protection is also examining the area, while non-governmental organisations are lobbying for constitutional change.
UN committee members are understood to have been exercised in particular over a Supreme Court case which ruled that two parents were entitled to refuse to allow their child to undergo a diagnostic test proven to reduce the incidence of serious childhood illnesses.
While the court accepted that the parents' refusal to allow their child undergo a PKU test was unwise, it felt the autonomy of parents prevented the State from ensuring the child received medical treatment. Commentators have since noted that the court's approach has exposed children in marital families to the risk of harmful treatment.
Mr Lenihan, meanwhile, has defended the decision to allow children aged 10 to be prosecuted for serious criminal offences, and said that under new reforms the age of criminal responsibility for most crimes will be 12.
The Government has taken criticism from the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child seriously. Following the last report in 1998, the Government sought to address much of the criticism by establishing the office of the Ombudsman for Children and drawing up a national children's strategy.