Vote No To AMENDMENT 31 IRISH CONSTITUTION

Thirty-First Amendment of the Constitution

PROPOSED NEW ARTICLE 42A

Children
1.The State recognises and affirms the natural and imprescriptible rights of all children and shall, as far as practicable, by its laws protect and vindicate those rights.
2.1° In exceptional cases, where the parents, regardless of their marital status, fail in their duty towards their children to such extent that the safety or welfare of any of their children is likely to be prejudicially affected, the State as guardian of the common good shall, by proportionate means as provided by law, endeavour to supply the place of the parents, but always with due regard for the natural and imprescriptible rights of the child.
2° Provision shall be made by law for the adoption of any child where the parents have failed for such a period of time as may be prescribed by law in their duty towards the child and where the best interests of the child so require.
3.Provision shall be made by law for the voluntary placement for adoption and the adoption of any child.
4.1° Provision shall be made by law that in the resolution of all proceedings-

i) brought by the State, as guardian of the common good, for the purpose of preventing the safety and welfare of any child from being prejudicially affected, or

ii) concerning the adoption, guardianship or custody of, or access to, any child, the best interests of the child shall be the paramount consideration.

2° Provision shall be made by law for securing, as far as practicable, that in all proceedings referred to in subsection 1° of this section in respect of any child who is capable of forming his or her own views, the views of the child shall be ascertained and given due weight having regard to the age and maturity of the child.

THIRTY-FIRST AMENDMENT OF THE CONSTITUTION
(CHILDREN) BILL 2012
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EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM
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Purpose of the Bill
The Programme for Government committed to holding a
Referendum to amend the Constitution in respect of children. The
proposed introduction of dedicated provisions for children is in line
with the recommendations of many experts over the years, including
the report of the Joint Committee on the Constitutional Amendment
on Children (2010) and the report of the All Party Oireachtas
Committee on the Constitution (2006).
The purpose of the Thirty-first Amendment of the Constitution
(Children) Bill 2012 is to expressly recognise children in their own
right within the Constitution. Dedicated provisions in our
Constitution will give children special protection having regard to
their young age and their potential vulnerability.
The provisions contained in the Bill will strongly affirm each
individual child’s inherent rights. The Bill will enshrine and give
firmer recognition to the protection of children under the
Constitution while continuing to respect and preserve the rights of
the family as set out in the existing Article 41. Article 41 which gives
special recognition to the family will be retained in full.
The main features of the Bill will provide for—
— the strengthening of protections for all children and the
provision of express rights;
— greater clarity in the State’s role in protecting children where
parents are failing;
— the making of laws regarding adoption where the parents of a
child have either failed in their duty towards that child or wish
to voluntarily place the child for adoption;
— the making of laws regarding consideration of the best interests
of the child and the views of the child in proceedings brought
by the State to protect any child or proceedings concerning
adoption, guardianship, custody of or access to any child; and
— no discrimination between children based upon the marital
status of their parents when it comes to child care proceedings,
family law proceedings, access to adoption and consideration
of their best interests and views.

Provisions of the Bill
A new Article 42A is to be inserted as a new Article after
Article 42.4.
The Bill provides for the repeal of Article 42.5 of the Constitution.
Article 42.5 provides that the State may, in exceptional
circumstances, by appropriate means supply the place of parents
when those parents for physical or moral reasons have failed in their
duty towards their child. The Bill re-words Article 42.5 and places it
within the new Article 42A. In the revised language, the focus is on
the safety and welfare of children which is not currently referenced
in the existing Article 42.5.
Section 1 provides for the repeal of Article 42.5 of the Constitution
and the insertion of a new Article 42A after Article 42.
Section 2 states that the amendment of the Constitution effected
by this Act shall be called the Thirty-first Amendment of the
Constitution and that the Act may be cited as the Thirty-first
Amendment of the Constitution (Children) Act 2012.
Schedule
The Schedule contains the proposed text of the new Article 42A
to be inserted after Article 42.
Department of Children and Youth Affairs,
September, 2012.