Remarks at Barnardos Conference ‘Children At The Centre: The Future Of Child Welfare And Protection In Ireland’
Dublin, 28th February 2012
Dia dhaoibh go léir inniu. Tá mé thar a bheith sásta bheith anseo libh ar an ócáid speisialta seo. Míle bhuíochas as an cuireadh agus an fáilte.
I am very pleased to have been invited to speak to you at today’s conference, “Children at the Centre: The Future of Child Welfare and Protection in Ireland”. As opportunities to share experiences with colleagues from across professions and geographic borders are rare, it is heartening to see not only that today’s event is extremely well attended but also the wide range of national and international representation. It is evidence, if such is needed, of the value of this occasion to you the participants to actively engage and learn from each others experiences.
One of the four strands of my vision for my Presidency is inclusive citizenship, recognising the contribution, creativity and potential of citizens of all ages. In a few short years we will commemorate the centenary of 1916 and the Proclamation that charges us ‘to cherish all the children of the nation equally’ and which can only take place in a society based on justice and the fundamental dignity, equality and participation of all its citizens.
When one considers the number of children with mental health difficulties who are to be found in adult institutions, the regular progression of children from detention to prison, the number of children who are leaving school early, almost 9,000 every year, the number of unaccompanied minors ‘lost’ from HSE accommodation – over 500, and more than 2,000 children in Traveller families who are deprived of basic facilities, one can see how easy it would be to conclude that the cherishing of all the children equally is not being realised. There is still a mountain to be climbed, but real progress is possible and some progress is being made.
If we now are to move forward and build children’s rights into a version of a real republic, we must realize that there is need for change, not only in the Constitution, not only in the legislation, not only in administration, but also in public consciousness in our priorities.
I have stated that my own presidential campaign was built around the principle of a radical inclusive citizenship in a creative society as part of the building of a real republic – one that make us proud to be Irish at home and abroad.
Protecting children must obviously now be a guarantee. However, the rights of the child must be defined as the rights to develop creativity not only within oneself but in interaction with others. In a recent book Alfred Kazin’s Journals (ed. Ricard Cook Yale UP 2011), Kazin describes the importance of others, of walking among the conditions of London after the war “Society, a mass, acting in concert with you, expressing the deepest part of you, in fact just the opposite of being submerged in the crowd. This is the positive sacramental side of society as an institution: working for you, with the energy and unconscious but positive wisdom that you do not immediately find in yourself”.
Many thinkers have seen society as something which exists in context with the deeper self - the need is to return to a social vision which sees it as liberating the deepest self. McGahern expressed a related idea in his stories - that too often in Ireland the family was set up not as the basis of society but as an alternative to the social itself.
We thus need to achieve a Republic by showing the link between community vision and the wellsprings of the self. Religion once claimed to do that and did for many people, but too often it declined into a controlling moralism - which sought to regulate not our relationship with destiny or the spirit but simply with one another rather than express and explore the relationship between self, society and the infinite. In the process power replaced authority.
Being positive, we can envisage what an achievement it would be if every child’s nutritional needs were met; If all children were assured of a good meal before they were asked to learn; If all children were enabled to achieve a level of literacy and numeracy; If all children had opportunities to enjoy their physicality through recreational opportunities such as the ability to swim; If all children had access to a musical instrument – Why should such outcomes be beyond the ambition of a republic in 2011.
Protecting children must be the first and most important guarantee for the future. The State has a duty to do all it can to ensure that the abuse and neglect that children suffered in the past does not happen in the future and where if it does, to respond appropriately and decisively and in the interest of the child above all else. Unfortunately, we are all aware of a number of reports which have shone a light on some horrific episodes from our past; and indeed from our very recent past; where as a State and a society we failed in our moral duty to cherish and protect our nation’s children.
If we are to learn from such past mistakes, part of that learning is that we must listen to children. Active listening must be ensured through the provision of appropriate training to professionals working with children.
I undertook in my inaugural speech last November in Dublin Castle to champion creative communities who are bringing about positive change at local level by giving recognition to those achievements on the national stage. Initiatives such as the Trinity Access programme linking primary schools to third level come to mind as does the work of Sr. Bernadette Sweeney in Crumlin who ensures that all the children in her school have an opportunity to become part of a school orchestra. Comhghairdeachas leo go léir.
Such positive initiatives - and there are so many more - are indicative of the potential that is there to be explored and harnessed. But I believe that in order to deliver that truly participative, creative and inclusive Republic for children and us all, we need to translate that potential into real change – real change as much in our consciousness as in policy formulation and service provision and we will need to listen to children, their views and priorities.
It is perhaps in literature that insights into the imagination and developing mind of the child have been best reflected. I do not need to stress to this audience the importance of engaging with the life world of children and to allowing their insights into our constructions of the social world. It is not simply about protecting the child from harm, although this is essential.
We must also allow for the freedom of the child recognizing variations in strength and vulnerability.
The name Barnardos is synonymous with the care and protection of children since the early 1960’s. And today Barnardos, continues to work tirelessly to both challenge and support families, communities, society and government to make Ireland the best place in the world to be a child, focusing specifically on children and young people who are experiencing disadvantage and whose well-being is under threat. This year, 2012 marks a very significant year for Barnardos – the celebration of its Golden Jubilee. Comhghairdeachas libh go léir sa bhlian seo. I wish to congratulate Barnardos on this important occasion and acknowledge the significant role you have played in listening to and empowering vulnerable children of Ireland throughout the past half century. I commend you for all that you do to effect positive, life-enhancing change in the lives of some of the most vulnerable in society.
As a society that has cause to view aspects of its all too recent past with anything but pride, the Government’s decision to create, for the first time a dedicated senior Ministry for Children and Youth Affairs is encouraging and very much in line with the aspirations contained in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. In Ireland this new focus on children marks an important step in our collective national effort to build an excellent child protection and welfare service. It is too an integral part of building the real and inclusive Republic I spoke of during my inaugural speech.
The principles of keeping children safe have not changed in the last decade, but what we have learned is the need for proper implementation, for independent inspection, for vigilance and for legislative compliance. It is no longer sufficient to say what needs to be done. We must ensure that all of society, particularly those in trusted positions with children, are fully aware of their responsibilities to children and are supported in their work.
In conclusion, I would like to thank Fergus Finlay and Barnardos for inviting me to be here today and to address you. I offer a very sincere thank you on my own behalf and on behalf of those who are not in a position to offer thanks themselves, our children. We thank all of you here today who continue to work tirelessly and at all levels in the interest of protecting the children of Ireland. I hope you find this conference rewarding and embrace the opportunites to listen to and learn from each other in the interests of reforming and redeveloping child protection services in Ireland.
Is iontach an obair atá ar siúl agaibh. Go n-éirí go geal libh agus go raibh míle maith agaibh go léir.