Madam, – In calling for the setting of a date for a children’s referendum, Gillian Van Turnhout ignores two basic facts. First, that children’s natural and imprescriptible rights are already fully enshrined in the Constitution. Second, that although a wording may be agreed by all Dáil parties it still has to be put to the people and its passage is far from certain.
Ms Van Tournhout must be aware that a sizeable portion of the electorate are parents and will have immense problems with making the State the vindicator of their children’s rights while relegating their role to guardians of children’s welfare on behalf of the state.
Parents for Children would love to support a measure that would strengthen children’s protection and have long sought meetings with Barry Andrews and the Oireachtas committee, (as promised by Mary O’Rourke), in order to come up with a wording that parents could in good conscience support.
So far we have been refused by the Minister and ignored by the Oireachtas. – Yours, etc,