Underage children must be protected - Barnardos

THE CONSTITUTIONAL Amendment on Children must ensure that children are "off-limits" to adults for sex, Barnardos chief executive Fergus Finlay has told an Oireachtas committee.

The provision of strict liability should be enshrined in the Constitution to stop those who have had sex with people who are under the age of consent from using the defence of "honest mistake", he said.

Drivers who break the rules of the road are unlikely to be successful in court if they claim they made an honest mistake, he said.

"It is absurd in that context that an adult can have sex with a 14- or 15-year-old girl and then plead he thought she was older - and then compound the long-term damage and trauma by reducing the child to the status of a defendant in the witness box. Children must be off-limits to adults when it comes to sexual activity." Mr Finlay was addressing the Joint Committee on the Constitutional Amendment on Children yesterday.

The protection of children and the need to put their best interests first must be strengthened by the amendment, he said. Vetting for those seeking to work with children must be extended to include Garda cautions and serious allegations rather than just convictions, as a "vital step towards protecting children from those who would seek to harm them".

Rules on the adoption of children should also be changed to create a level playing field for the children of married and unmarried parents. Currently, a single mother can place her child for adoption and then consent to the adoption order. However if married parents place their child for adoption, the child can only be adopted if the High Court is satisfied the parents have failed in their duty to the child for at least 12 months and are likely to do so until the child is 18.

This has put children and foster parents in a position where both parties want adoption but have to wait until the child is nearly 18, denying the child stability at a time when they most need it.

"Barnardos believes that provision should be made by law and in the Constitution for the voluntary placement for adoption and the adoption of any child, and that, in all such situations, the determining factor should be the best interests of the child."

The charity is calling for legislation relating to the amendment to be published in draft form along with the amendment.