Madame Chair and Members of the Committee,
I want to begin by thanking you for the opportunity you have given us today
to engage with you.
I outlined in my opening statement some of the ways in which Government has
demonstrated its commitment to the children’s rights agenda and some key
achievements.
As significant, to my mind, is that we accept and acknowledge that we are
still on a journey, but we have a plan. Ireland’s National Framework for
Children and Young People Better Outcomes, Brighter Futures is our roadmap
for future developments and future investment.
Better Outcomes, Brighter Futures is significant because
• It embeds the principles and specific articles of the Convention as
the frame of reference for the 163 commitments that it contains;
• It was built on a wide consultation with children and young people
themselves; their parents; wider civil society; as well as service
providers and practitioners;
• It signals that the lives of children and young people are
multi-faceted, therefore our response must be comprehensive and
integrated both horizontally, across Government; and vertically, from
central government policy through to on the ground delivery;
• It is child-centred and is for all children and young people while
recognising the additional needs of the most vulnerable; That is, it
is focused on the real difference that the changes we propose can
make to individual children’s experiences and their outcomes..
Sitting here today, I am extremely mindful that we are joining you here in
2016, the centenary of the uprising that ultimately gave birth to our
democratic republic. It reminds us of the ideals that the men and women of
the 1916 Rising envisaged. In their own words, they proclaimed a Republic
that:
“Guarantees religious and civil liberty, equal rights and equal
opportunities to all its citizens, and [which] declares its resolve
to pursue the happiness and prosperity of the whole nation and all of
its parts, cherishing all of the children of the nation equally.”
These Constitutional aspirations are not simple to implement, they are not
easy, but they are the values we espouse to as a nation.
What I hope we have left you with is a sense that we have a shared agenda.
Domestically, civil society promote children’s rights and push us to move
forward more quickly and more ambitiously. However, they also support and
collaborate with us in seeking solutions and finding ways of achieving
forward momentum in more challenging areas. Internationally, this process
with you today helps us to reflect on and highlight achievements but also
to renew and refresh our efforts around identified priority areas, where
problems still needs to be addressed.
I want to thank you again for your warm welcome. I also want to thank the
contributions made by the Rapporteurs and individual Committee members – I
very much appreciate the challenge of getting to grips with the different
legal systems; policy approaches; historical and cultural contexts which
you have to deal with as you examine a range of different countries. It is
clear that you have given great attention to the material which we have
supplied and your questions have been engaging and, rightly, challenging.
Our thanks also go to the Committee Secretariat for their efficient conduct
of business and to the interpreters for facilitating our dialogue.
I want to thank the representatives of civil society, both those present,
but also those who have contributed to the Parallel Report to the UN
Committee and Submission to the UN on the Replies of Ireland to the List of
Issues. These processes of dialogue contribute not only to your
understanding, but also to ours. They also assist us in prioritising our
efforts and investment.
I also want to thank the children and young people who contributed to their
own report on their Rights “Picture Your Rights”. I know that some of them
have come together to watch the proceedings today with the assistance of
UNICEF in Ireland and the Office of the Ombudsman for Children. I am
confident that they will have seen the issues which they have raised
reflected in our discussions.
Finally, I also want to thank my own experts for their contribution today,
as well as Ambassador O’Brien and the Mission in Geneva. Their advice and
inputs have, I hope, contributed to the engagement today.
I look forward to your concluding observations and wish you well in your
work for the remainder of the 71st Session of the Committee.