THE CABINET would very shortly consider a memorandum on the wording for a children’s referendum, Minister of State Barry Andrews told the Dáil.

He said the wording would differ from what was proposed by an Oireachtas committee, but sought to maintain the full range of policy goals set out by it. It was being drafted by the office of the Attorney General with policy support from his office.

“I know that some deputies have voiced alarm that the Cabinet would ask each department to examine the proposed wording, but to do otherwise would be irresponsible in the extreme,” he said.

Speaking during a debate on the Roscommon abuse case, Mr Andrews said far-reaching constitutional changes could not be introduced without asking senior civil servants about the likely consequences and costs.

“This is part of a due diligence exercise that must be gone through by any government,” he added.

Mr Andrews said the children involved in the Roscommon case were failed, in the first instance, by their parents, their primary care givers, and subsequently by State services when signs which pointed to the need to remove them from obvious risk were ignored.

Fine Gael spokesman Charlie Flanagan called for a system-wide overhaul in the HSE so a clear chain of command existed from the front line right up to the office of the Minister for Health and Children.

Labour spokeswoman Jan O’Sullivan said people needed to understand the complex dynamics of a family situation where parents could manipulate children who were sometimes crying for help.

Sinn Féin spokesman Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin said it was almost beyond belief that from 1989 until 2004, the voices of the abused children were ignored by people charged by the State with the identification of vulnerable children.

“The report on this case will be without purpose unless the culpable people . . . are brought to account,” he added.