The Government's Special Rapporteur on Child Protection, Dr Geoffrey Shannon, has issued his sixth report which calls for full guardianship rights over children to be given to step-parents and same-sex couples in civil partnerships.
His report also recommends making online bullying a criminal offence and treating the bullying of gay, lesbian or transgender pupils a child protection issue.
It has been welcomed by the Children's Minister Frances Fitzgerald. She says the Government will consider his recommendations and acknowledged that online bullying remains "a very serious issue".
The Children's Rights Alliance also "warmly" welcomed Dr Shannon's paper but says Ireland still lags behind international child protection standards. Acting Chief Executive, Maria Corbett, says our failure to fully ratify all provisions of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child is "embarrassing".
