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THE WORDING for the Children’s Referendum has been released by Minister Frances Fitzgerald TD of the Department of Children and Youth Affairs.
The details of the wording of the proposed amendment to the Constitution, which is intended to strengthen the rights of the child, were published at 11.30am. The referendum will take place on Saturday 10 November.
Minister Fitzgerald said: “This referendum will change the Constitution so it: Protects children; supports families; and treats all children equally.”
She added that the Draft Adoption (Amendment) Bill has also been published, which sets out in detail how her department proposes to “address the issues of voluntary placement, the adoption of children in foster care as a result of serious and persistent parental failure, and the role of the High Court in deciding on such matters.”
The campaign for the referendum will include a new website, www.childrensreferendum.ie/ while information booklets will be sent to every home.
“This is a debate for all of us,” concluded the Minister of the debate on the referendum.
Proposed New Article 42AChildren
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.
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My band Cruachan made it to the last ten this year, so close to making the final six for the televised final. A totally different song than normal – celtic folk mixed with metal, thin lizzy meets horslips. Anyway, we’ll release our submission ‘The Blacksmith’ as a standalone single on the same day as Irelands semi final so plz check that out and see what you think
@Keith Fay: if ye make it it’ll be the first good act since Lordi.
@Kieran Fitzgerald: Cheers Kieran, we’ll most likely try again for next year. Ireland needs to stop sending pop!
@Keith Fay: it’d be fine if it was good pop but the best we can do some some lad who can do the Louis Walsh dance move. A.K.A Standing up off a stool on a key change.
And who selects the songs presented on the late late show? Or is it who you know?……
@Rebecca Owens: this is what I was told – “We had a judging panel of over 30 Radio, TV and Entertainment professionals as well as Eurovision fans shortlisting the songs”
@Keith Fay: lol.. Rubbish.. Johnny Rotten!! (English Man). All candidates are politically / agenda picked.
I watch the Eurovision but often it feels like the judges don’t. It feels like they are still locked in the past with no idea of what actually succeeds in the Eurovision nowadays. I mean the audience of Eurovision are hardly diehard fans of the Late Late show way of selecting singers. Johnny Rotten will probably go in purely for the novelty factor.
Yes but I can’t watch Turbity or Marty Whelan, so that rules out Eurosong tonight or Eurovision on RTE.
I watch all kinds of everything
nul points – nein danke
50% polled have no interest, yet the viewing figures every year are huge.
Funny that.
@Eamonn Duggan: Viewing figures are rigged.
@Roger Bond: or more simply, the Journal commenters are not representative of the general population.
@Eamonn Duggan: A quick Google search tells me that, at 314,000 viewers, it wasn’t even in the top 50….
Listened to the songs, i cannot see any going through never mind winning. The competition should be more open to the public. Like it was when it started. A knock out competition
I do watch it, it’s actually quite good.
The bloc vote argument and the naff song argument come from people who haven’t watched the contest in years.
The quality has improved songwise, the winners are not all eastern bloc, recent winners: Netherlands, Italy, Portugal, Sweden (twice), Austria, Denmark.
I do think RTÉ needs to make more of an effort when you see what the rest of Europe brings each year. We won’t be holding that record for much longer and when that happens, which it will, we won’t be able to tug at the Johnny Logan nostalgia strings any longer. Change if approach is needed now.
Look at United Kingdom, coming second last year, would have won only for Ukraine, however end up hosting in Liverpool this year, so they may as well have won the thing last year.
Every mention of John Lydon and P. I. L. has been removed!!! Why??
@sean o’dhubhghaill: Cause the system don’t like it.
@Keth Warsaw: It’s a great rock ‘n roll swindle if you ask me.
@sean o’dhubhghaill: And tonight….never mind the bolox.
@Keth Warsaw: bollix
Yes, taking a shot everytime Marty makes a patronising remark about one of the other countries.
The Eurovision became a complete joke show when those Eastern European countries came onboard.
@Roger Bond: So you’d kick out all the countries east of Berlin?
junket for some who look forward to the trip yearly and the taxpayers being fleeced to pay for such trips , RTE. And their Mafia and political connections wast of taxoayers money as some sections of society go hungry and have to live in the cold homes if they have one to live in .
Has become too big. Bring back four singers and frocks, and a real connection. Don’t need to watch pornstars throwing out noise.
…Never gonna happen.
Not since My Lovely Horse.
Let JR represent Ireland. We have been too anodyne fit too long.
Eurovision peaked in 2006.
@Kieran Fitzgerald: 1970 s
I did and it was cringeworthy
Amateur hour
have your say