Article 42A: Rights of a Child in the Irish Constitution

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Article 42A is a new section that was put into the Constitution in Ireland and regards the rights of the child. This essay will outline and discuss Article 42A of the Constitution, including an assessment of its potential to improve the lives of children in Ireland.

Before Article 42A was passed, children did have some rights under the Constitution, they were given some of the rights as other people living in Ireland, for instance the right to obtain residency (Articles 2 and 9) and in suitable situations, they are entitled to the Fundamental Rights set out in Articles 40 and 44 as well as some rights that are not recorded in the Constitution but they have been read into it by the Courts. As Well as these rights, there are two constitutional rights explicitly associated to children: the right to free primary education (Article 42.4) and the ability of the State to intervene when parents fail their child (Article 42.5)(Children’s Rights, 2012).

Article 41 of the Constitution identifies the rights of the family (based on marriage) (Cronin and Duggan et al., 2013, p 28-33) and identifies the state as the primary unit in society. The State promises to protect the family and guard the establishment of marriage, on which the family is established. According to the Supreme Court Article 41, which states the rights of the family, sees the family only based on marriage and therefore only the marital family is thus entitled to the protection and guarantee of Articles 41 and 42 (The Case for Constitutional Change, 2007). Article 42 declares that parents have an “inalienable right and duty … to provide, according to their means, for the religious and moral, intellectual, physical and social education of their children”(Cronin and Duggan et ...

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Cronin, H., Duggan, E., O'tuathaigh, C. and Doran, K. (2013) Attitudes of General Practitioners to Prescribing Contraception to Minors - A Medico-Legal Review. Medico-Legal Journal of Ireland [online], 19 pp. 28-33. Available at: http://login.westlaw.ie.ezproxy.wit.ie:2048/maf/wlie/app/document?&srguid=ia744cc64000001450ea3b61054c0346f&docguid=I0C630E0741C1444E8B5A4451F62D10C7&hitguid=I0C630E0741C1444E8B5A4451F62D10C7&rank=2&spos=2&epos=2&td=7&crumb-action=append&context=9&resolvein=true [Accessed: 29 Mar 2014].

The Case for Constitutional Change. 2007. [e-book] Dublin: Barnardos. Available through: Google https://www.barnardos.ie/assets/files/pdf/advo_caseforconstitutionalchange.pdf [Accessed: 29 Mar 2014].

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