THE WORKERS' PARTY OF IRELAND

Referendum about responsibility, not power

"For the first time in the history of this state children will have a voice and that voice will have to be heard" - Mary Diskin, Workers Party spokesperson on Children

The Worker's Party has stated that the NO side in this referendum are grossly misleading the electorate and that this referendum is about responsibility, not power.

 

In an address to party campaign workers, Mary Diskin, spokesperson on children stated: "This referendum is not an attack on families, and only a deliberate misreading of the wording can interpret it as such. Neither is it a power grabbing exercise by the state for itself or for its agencies like the HSE."

 

"In the first instance this amendment is a recognition, indeed a long overdue recognition, that all children resident in this state have rights and that these rights must be vindicated by law based on a sound constitutional framework. More than 30 years after the adoption of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC), this amendment will enshrine the three basic principles of Non discrimination; Best interests of the Child; and Right of the child to be heard."

 

"I reiterate the Workers Party view that the proposed constitutional amendment is virtually unique in our political history as it is largely about placing responsibility on government rather than bestowing power to government. Because the new Article 42A accepts, in express terms, the three central precepts of the UNCRC, it places strict limits on how the government, or arms of the government; exercise power over children and directly impacts on how and why decisions will have to be made. For the first time in the history of this state children will have a voice and that voice will have to be heard".

 

"We cannot return to the miseries of the past, and we cannot allow past state failures to be used by a manipulative and disingenuous No campaign to frighten people into voting No or not casting their ballot.".

 

"Children need and deserve the support of the constitution and therefore we are asking the electorate for a high turnout and a massive endorsement of this proposal".

 

Issued 7th November 2012

Peace, Work, Democracy & Class Politics