Child Care Law

The lack of care placements in Ireland, particularly for disabled children, is the dominant theme in the latest volume of reports published by the Child Law Project on cases where the State brought legal action to take children into or keep them in care. The new volume includes 58 District Court cas

Legislation providing for the establishment of a new national guardian ad litem service has been enacted. The Child Care (Amendment) Act 2022 allows for the new service to be established within an executive office of the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth on an inter

The Court of Appeal has extended a special care order for a vulnerable child in circumstances where there was no available stepdown facility for the child to return to the community. It was held that difficulties with such placements were a “long-term problem” in the State. Delivering ju

The Child Law Project (CCLRP) has identified the lack of secure and step-down placements, mental health concerns, unaccompanied minors and parental neglect as the key features of its latest volume of reports of cases where the State sought orders to take children into or keep them in care. Severe me

A major study into the lives of children in care and adults who were in care as children has been announced by the government. The landmark research and data project will be the most comprehensive examination of Ireland's alternative care system ever undertaken, and will provide an extensive overvie

A specialised family court system must be established as soon as possible, along with a range of reforms to proceedings in which children are taken into State care, the Child Care Law Reporting Project (CCLRP) has recommended. The CCLRP will today publish new analysis based on 403 cases heard at Dis

Long-awaited reforms to the guardian ad litem (GAL) system will go ahead after ministers agreed to draft new legislation. The Child Care (Amendment) Bill 2021 will establish a new national guardian ad litem service within an executive office of the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integ

Serious mental health issues among children, the care of unaccompanied minors and domestic violence all feature in the latest volume of reports from the Child Care Law Reporting Project (CCLRP). The CCLRP has today published 53 case reports from proceedings in courts around Ireland where application

The special rapporteur on child protection has highlighted aspects of the Child Care Act 1991 which merit "substantial reform" in his annual report for 2019. The report, published today, is the first report submitted by child law expert Professor Conor O'Mahony since his appointment to the role last

The Family Lawyers' Association of Ireland has established a working group of child care law practitioners to make recommendations for reform of the Child Care Act 1991. Solicitor Gareth Noble of KOD Lyons has been appointed to chair the group, and is joined by Sarah Fennell BL, Lewis Mooney BL and

Proposals to reform the Child Care Act 1991 to reflect "changes in society and our understanding of children's rights" have gone out to consultation. In a consultation document published yesterday, the Department of Children and Youth Affairs (DCYA) said it believes the 1991 Act "continues to serve

The COVID-19 pandemic has created serious issues, particularly around access, in child care cases, the Child Care Law Reporting Project (CCLRP) has found. The project has published its latest volume of reports on child care cases heard during the COVID-19 crisis, some of them through remote hearings

It would be "a tragedy" if proposals to scrap the Department of Children and Young People (DCYA) go ahead, former Supreme Court judge Catherine McGuinness has said. The accomplished Belfast-born barrister and judge, who retired from the Supreme Court in 2006, told RTÉ's Morning Ireland that s

An interim care order for an unaccompanied child victim of trafficking has been granted in the first-ever remote hearing of a District Court case. The Child Care Law Reporting Project (CCLRP) attended the remote Dublin District Court hearing and has published a report of proceedings.

Proposals to scrap the Department of Children and Youth Affairs (DCYA) have been met with opposition from 60 children and youth organisations. An internal Fianna Fáil paper seen by the Business Post reportedly proposes the abolition of the DCYA to make way for a new Department of Higher Educa