Article 42A is a new section inserted into the Irish Constitution and concerns the rights of the child. This essay will outline and discuss Article 42A of the Constitution, including an assessment of its potential to improve the lives of children in Ireland. Before Article 42A was passed, children had certain rights under the Constitution, they were given certain rights as per the Constitution. other people living in Ireland, for example the right to obtain residency (Articles 2 and 9) and, in appropriate situations, are entitled to the fundamental rights set out in Articles 40 and 44 as well as to certain rights not enshrined in the Constitution but which have been read by the courts. In addition to these rights, there are two constitutional rights explicitly associated with children: the right to free primary education (article 42.4) and the ability of the state to intervene when parents fail their children (article 42.5) (Children's Rights, 2012) . Article 41 of the Constitution identifies family rights (based on marriage) (Cronin and Duggan et al., 2013, p 28-33) and identifies the state as the primary unit of society. The State promises to protect the family and to supervise the institution of marriage, on which the family is founded. According to the Supreme Court, article 41, which establishes the rights of the family, sees the family as based only on marriage and therefore only the conjugal family has the right to the protection and guarantee of articles 41 and 42 (The Case for Constitutional Change, 2007) . Article 42 declares that parents have "the inalienable right and duty... to provide, according to their possibilities, for the religious and moral, intellectual, physical and social education of their children" (Cronin and Duggan et... half of the paper ......app/document?src=docnav&srguid=ia744cc630000014509210fbfd6c5ece3&rank=2&spos=2&epos=2&td=3&crumb-action=replace&linktype=ref [accessed 28 March 2013].Cronin, H., Duggan, E., O 'tuathaigh , C. and Doran, K. (2013) Attitudes of General Practitioners to Prescribing Contraception to Minors - A Medico-Legal Review Medico-Legal Journal of Ireland [online], 19 pp. 28-33 Available at: http ://. /login.westlaw.ie.ezproxy.wit.ie:2048/maf/wlie/app/document?&srguid=ia744cc64000001450ea3b61054c0346f&docguid=I0C630E0741C1444E8B5A4451F62D10C7&hitguid=I0C630E 07 41C1444E8B5A4451F62D10C7&rank=2&spos=2&epos=2&td=7&crumb-action=append&context=9&resolvein= true [Accessed: 29 Mar 2014].The Case for Constitutional Change. 2007. [e-book] Dublin: Barnardos Available via: Google https://www.barnardos.ie/assets/files/pdf/advo_caseforconstitutionalchange.pdf [ Access: March 29th. 2014].