A/HRC/19/9 18. A referendum dealing with the rights of children will be held early in the New Year. 19. Subsequent to the submission of the national report, the Government published a Commission of Investigation report into the Catholic Diocese of Cloyne. 20. The Government decided, following consideration of the Commission report, to take the measures set out below. 21. A Criminal Justice (Withholding Information on Crimes Against Children and Vulnerable Adults) Bill and a National Vetting Bureau Bill, to provide a statutory basis for vetting of applicants for employment and employees working with children, were being drafted and would be presented in final form to Parliament as soon as possible. 22. It was intended to place a statutory obligation on every organization working with children to protect and safeguard those children when in their care – including statutory, private, community and voluntary organizations. 23. Legislation to enable ratification of the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography is at an advanced stage of preparation. 24. A Department of Children and Youth Affairs had been established. Work on creating a stand-alone agency to deal with child protection issues has started. 25. The Minister for Children and Youth Affairs will oversee an implementation framework for each government department and sector working with children. The framework will have a strong emphasis on inspection and the need to provide demonstrable evidence that the guidelines are being properly implemented across all sectors. 26. In the case of the health sector, the remit of the Health Information and Quality Authority was being extended to include oversight of the Health Service Executive's Child Protection Services. 27. Ireland had a dualist system under which international agreements to which Ireland becomes a party do not become a part of domestic law unless so determined by Parliament through legislation. 28. While treaty committees have recommended that the Conventions which they variously monitor should be incorporated into domestic Irish law, it was not intended to alter current practice. 29. Work on the preparation of the necessary Mental Capacity Bill to allow ratification of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities was proceeding. A revised strategy for housing for people with disabilities had been launched. 30. The Minister for Disabilities had reviewed arrangements for monitoring implementation of the national disability strategy. 31. The Government attached great importance to having accessible, affordable arrangements in place in order that those whose rights have been infringed can vindicate their rights, especially the most vulnerable in society. 32. Publication of a Legal Services Bill which will provide greater transparency to the calculation of legal costs, provide alternative structures for the delivery of legal services and protect consumer rights had been announced. Enactment of the Bill should effect a reduction in legal costs, of benefit to those most in need of affordable legal services. 33. Rationalization of the number of State bodies in the area of employment protection will ensure that one agency will deal with all complaints, and thereby that people can access processes to vindicate their rights. 5