Afternoon

HR/CRC/98/8
12 January 1998


The Committee on the Rights of the Child this afternoon continued its
consideration of the initial report presented by Ireland on its compliance with
the provisions of the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

The delegation of Ireland told the Committee members that the Government
was concerned about the increase in the number of young single mothers and
the rise in the rate of suicide among youth.

The Irish delegation said that the Government had raised the age for criminal
responsibility of a child from 7 to 10 years of age and that in three years time, it
will raise it to 12 years.

A number of the Committee's 10 independent human rights experts raised
further questions on children born out of wedlock and the causes of suicide
among youth and child pregnancy.

The Committee will continue consideration of the report of Ireland tomorrow at
10 a.m.

Discussion

In response to queries raised by Committee members in the morning session,
the Irish delegation said that due consideration and respect was given to the
views of a child in any matter relating to his or her placement. A procedure was
put in place in each residential centre to ensure that children in care had facilities
to express any complaints they might have regarding their care.

As regards the principle of the "best interest of the child", the delegation said
that the social policy was based on the promotion of the well-being of the
children and on the respect for their freedom of expression. The Constitution
guaranteed the rights of citizens to express freely their convictions and opinions.

In response to a question on the criminal responsibility of a child, the delegation
said that the 1996 Children Bill provided for an increase in the age of criminal
responsibility from 7 to 10 years. It was expected that within the coming three
years, the age limit would be raised to 12 years.

Asked if children of asylum-seekers were treated on equal footing with those of
nationals, the delegation said that the same privileges were provided for both
groups of children. Children of asylum-seekers could attend schools while
awaiting the processing of their families’ applications for asylum.

The Government had designed a strategy to meet the accommodation needs of
"traveller children" within five years, the delegation said. The targets included
proposals for new and amended legislation to facilitate local authorities meeting
the strategy while at the same time improving controls on the erection of
unauthorized dwellings.

An expert asked if those "travellers" were discriminated against and if they were
provided with social benefits. The delegation said that they had the same
entitlements as any other Irish citizens under the social welfare system.

A question was raised regarding the root causes of the increase in the rate of
suicide, particularly among youth. The delegation said that although the rate of
suicide was low, the subject had become a difficult issue. The Government was
alarmed by the dramatic increase in the number of cases of suicide during the
last few years. A Task Force on Suicide had been set up by the Government to
find a solution to this phenomenon.

The rise in the number of young single mothers in the society was also another
matter of concern to Ireland, the delegation said. The increase in the number of
single mothers had prompted the Government to undertake measures to revert
the tendency. Authorities had created centres to assist young girls in designing
their future through training and education.

A question was asked on whether children born out of wedlock had the same
rights as those born within wedlock. One expert commented that the use of the
term "illegitimate" for children born out of wedlock had led to discrimination.
The delegation said that term was recently replaced by "non-marital children",
and that it would recommend its wide use in the national media.

The delegation said that the current minimum age for marriage was 16 years,
but courts could grant exemption from that requirement. A marriage involving a
person under 16 years of age which had not received the requisite court
approval was void, the delegation said, adding that outside marriage, 17 years
was the age of sexual consent.

Concerning the use of corporal punishment in the family, in care and in other
institutions, the delegation said that corporal punishment was not regraded as an
appropriate punishment. Guidelines to foster parents excluded corporal
punishment in the case of foster children. Corporal punishment was also
prohibited in pre-school services, in institutions and in children detention
schools.

In order to reduce domestic violence involving children, the Government had
taken preventive measures by empowering courts to bar the respondent spouse
from entering any place where the applicant spouse or a dependent child
resided, the delegation said.