UN officials yesterday expressed alarm that children as young as 10 could face criminal prosecution under Government reforms to the youth justice system due to be implemented next month.
It was one of a number of areas of concern which emerged as a UN committee questioned a Government delegation led by Minister for Children Brian Lenihan over Ireland's record in protecting and promoting children's rights.
Officials on the Geneva-based UN Committee on the Rights of the Child also expressed reservations over:
The lack of non-denominational schools in the education system, in light of the increasing numbers of non-Catholic foreign national children in Ireland and the prevailing Catholic ethos in the majority of schools;
The absence of an express recognition of children's rights in the Constitution;
Discriminatory treatment of separated children seeking asylum compared to Irish children in the care system relating to standards of care;
High levels of alcohol abuse among young people, one of the highest in Europe, and the lack of any significant progress in addressing the issue;
Relatively high levels of child poverty that continue to exist in Ireland, despite the country's economic success.
The UN committee, which is assessing Ireland's progress in implementing the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, is due to issue a formal report on the State's performance shortly.
In the area of youth justice reform, UN committee member Lucy Smith, a Norwegian legal expert, said she was disappointed with plans which would allow children as young as 10 to be held legally responsible for certain crimes.
Mr Lenihan said new justice reforms will raise the age of criminal responsibility from seven to 12 for most crimes, although provision will be made for the prosecution of 10 and 11-year-old children on serious charges such as murder and serious sexual offences.
Committee members also asked why poverty rates among children were one of the highest in Europe, despite Ireland's economic performance.
Mr Lenihan said it was easy to get "ensnared by statistics" and pointed out that about 100,000 children had been lifted out of deprivation in recent years. He also rejected the use of the relative poverty indicator - which estimates that more than one-in-five children are at risk of poverty - to measure the extent of deprivation.
When questioned over the low level of financial benefits available to asylum-seeking children, the Minister said such children were entitled to special welfare payments but acknowledged that a weekly allowance of €9.60 was small. "We did notice that when we looked at it this morning that their pocket money hadn't been increased for a number of years," Mr Lenihan said.
Officials also expressed concern at reports of long waiting lists for therapeutic and psychiatric services for children.
Ms Smith said she was hopeful that the Minister's pledge to review the Constitution would result in positive change.
