Mattie McGrath urges grieving parents' rights in Children's bill

I am happy to be able to speak on this Children's Minimums bill this evening. I suppose a bill that is 19 or almost so it is very important that we would obviously have a review of any legislation but we discussed that even here some weeks ago when Deputy Pingland had amendments down to the Children's Bill as well about reviews of legislation because clearly clearly there was inadequacies and there was weaknesses and there was flaws not maybe by any design or by anybody deliberately but this can happen with legislation the best made plans of God and men can go wrong as we know so the best laid piece of legislation can be challenged can be fragile or can be not can be quite inept and not adept enough at dealing with the situations and when you're situation with the traumatic death of any person but when it's a traumatic and maybe sudden or maybe violent death of a young person it's it's just way more tragic and more I know every every life is the same every life counts for I'm concerned from the from the womb to the tomb but it's in a situation with uh the yoga it's it's so far such a fight and I know yourself um that's John Kohler beware of cases from your from your other and when your other has as as a practicing liar but I see that Michael McDowell in fairness uh Senator McDowell he has and Senator and Deputy O'Callaghan have had a huge input into the legislation and put forward with some amendments and the cabinet initially approved you know the proposal by the Minister for Justice uh in the McAdee to support the children's amendment bill after independent Senator McDowell yeah you know right forward however the minister has proceeded by making several key amendments to the bill and obviously they'll be discussed um at next stage but the objective of the original bill are well-meaning it aims to address the proposed um um and they get negative impact of the court rulings is having on families indeed on on um grieving families and grieving parents who are unable to remember their deceased child's name our legacy is very clear uh the original bills aim to give a power back to those parents so that they are they can remember their children or as family members in the way they want to and that's very important couldn't be more important and other deputies have referred to you know the tragedy that we have the last uh 12 and a half months now with uh with lockdown and with people's inability to be with their loved ones when they closed their eyes for the last time or took their last breaths are indeed to have a proper mourning uh uh time and space and time with family and are indeed uh proper attendances at funerals and it's more on through a shin it's half rendering and i listen to different psychiatrists now and people well more qualified than i would be that we're talking about the long-term impact of this in the indeed you know the former uh prison governor of mount jaya heard demands morning and radio talking about you know the trauma and uh you know he's not there's a lot of different situations but the trauma we're all well aware of of everyone dying on their own and people being unable to to to mourn properly or the dignity of a proper funeral and something that we are so good at in rural lands but and urban islands and that when the chips are down every community whether it'll be open or rural i give a huge dig out to the family who lost one it's a big part of our culture and our heritage and our traditions in ireland a suckered moore and a suckered ma so it's very important that you know that they would be so the current position under the children's act it is an offense uh to uh publish anything that could uh lead to the identification of a child who has been the victim of a crime and we can see that that is very very very important uh from the point of view you know of and we've seen court kids maybe not her children where names got out and got on social media and it damages the integrity of the court process and the court system so that's very important uh in october 2020 uh the court of appeal ruled that these restrictions also apply if the child is deceased or that um already has already turned 18. the children's amendment bill 2020 will amend sections uh 252 of the children's act 2001 which the court of appeal ruled on and that's very important um it prevents uh provide significant it prevents identification of the deceased child in criminal procedures for the offense against the child and any crime against a child is rather heinous crime and you know we can see why that's there but we need to try and i suppose get the balance of of allowing the family have their proper respect and you know love continue and grieving process and also deal with a person of his charge before our persons of the charge before the court the bill when enacted enacted aims to allow grieving pains to speak publicly about the deceased child at the time of the of the court rejected an application by the irish times and several other media outlets to allow them to identify a woman who killed her three year old child she was found not guilty of a murder in reasons of insanity following a short trial last year and chin wrote a false of a false uh fashion that's you know but look people's um obviously if it's insanity nobody can explain for no no one can legislate for either but it's it's so vital that we have this legislation passed and i think there is goodwill right throughout the house and try and make this bill as robust and as sensitive and understanding and well-meaning as possible and as i said 19 years is a long time to wait for but we are here now thankfully and uh we we need to we need to um we need to uh get as best we can and have a pass without delay and the bill was introduced after the court of appeal a ruling that the dead child cannot be identified when someone is shared so it's that's what was bound to happen but it has happened and before that uh trial began uh two high court judges ordered that the victim should not be identified and is mint and this meant that the woman could not be uh named and you know we understand the very good reasons for that but look um i think it's we're here now and we are where we are but and in spite of covert it's it's progressing through the house i certainly don't intend to delay it or hold it up any and any shape make a form but i think it's we should god speed and hopefully it will um go through all the stages here of committee stage and will be passed and um some good amendments taken on and and and discussed obviously debated and hopefully there'll be a review clause put in uh that there will be a review of us as to how um how it bids in and how it's functioning and what impact is having on trails and indeed above all the impact is having on grieving families and the name of the loved one that can be you know spoken about and and and remembered and set up or celebrate their life short and all as it may have been but um we definitely have to have a review and not a review after six months probably after two years so i commend the built it house good uh uh uh uh uh uh uh uh uh uh uh