A national opinion poll commissioned by children's charity Barnardos will show more than 70 per cent of adults favour changing the Constitution to give special recognition to children's rights.
The poll results form part of a campaign the charity is launching today which aims to bolster support for an amendment to the Constitution that would provide for greater protection of the welfare of children.
The extent of public support will prove to be a significant boost to children's rights campaigners and the Government, which has announced plans to hold a referendum on the issue.
The Barnardos opinion poll was conducted by Behaviour and Attitudes and involved interviews with 1,200 adults across the country.
Government officials, meanwhile, are examining a number of options as part of its proposed wording for a referendum.
The Irish Times understands the options include inserting a number of new articles in the Constitution, but avoiding any significant change to the rights of the family.
Government sources say any change to the definition of the family in Article 41, which refers to the "inalienable and imprescriptable" rights of the family, could prove highly controversial and be seen to downgrade the status of parents.
Also under consideration are changes to Article 42.5, which has been identified by children's rights campaigners as a key obstacle to providing for a robust child protection regime. This article says the welfare of the child remains in the family and that the State may only intervene in exceptional circumstances.
Sources say this article may be toned down, or even deleted, which would reduce the threshold for State intervention in child abuse cases. No decision has yet been reached, according to Government sources. The scope for the specific insertion of children's rights is also being considered in Government circles.
Minister for Children Brian Lenihan said at the weekend that such changes would help protect children from maltreatment, neglect or abuse. "We must ensure that the Constitution has a specific provision which requires that in appropriate circumstances, the welfare of the child should be the paramount consideration. We need to set out in specific form the rights of the child in our Constitution," he said.
Mr Lenihan said the Taoiseach had asked him to consult other Dáil parties and relevant interest groups regarding a wording in the coming weeks.
He hoped they could reach a consensus on the wording of a proposed amendment.
A review of the Constitution as it relates to children has been under way within Government for some time.
The Minister told a UN committee on children's rights recently that he had embarked on an "article-by-article" review of the Constitution to examine how it affected children.
He said at the weekend he had asked solicitor and child law expert Geoffrey Shannon - who is one of the special rapporteurs who advises the Government on children's rights - to assist him in preparing a final text for publication.
