Child Care Law

The High Court's oversight of the treatment of teenagers needing specialised therapeutic intervention, and the disproportionate number of children from ethnic minority backgrounds coming before the child protection courts, are highlighted in the latest volume of reports from the Child Care Law Repor

Tusla, the Child and Family Agency, is set to challenge a court order to pay €35,000 to a solicitor to help find suitable accommodation for a vulnerable 17-year-old boy. The agency was ordered by a District Court judge to pay €35,000 to a solicitor representing the boy's guardian ad litem

Plans to require childminders to register with Tusla, the Child and Family Agency, have gone out to public consultation. Children's Minister Dr Katherine Zappone yesterday launched the Draft Childminding Action Plan, which sets out proposals for improving access to high quality and affordable early

Allegations of perjury during in camera hearings can be investigated by gardaí and prosecuted by them, the High Court has confirmed in a declaration with particular significance for family law and child care proceedings. Solicitor Clifford Sullivan of Co Wicklow firm LawPlus Solicitors told I

A woman has been threatened with jail if she continues posting information about her son's child care proceedings on social media. Mr Justice Denis McDonald told the unnamed woman, whose son is in the care of Tusla, the Child and Family Agency, that she faces serious consequences if she continues to

Legislation to establish a new national Guardian ad litem service and introduce a presumption in favour of appointing a Guardian ad litem for all children in child care proceedings has been published. The Child Care (Amendment) Bill 2019 is aimed at addressing significant inadequacies in existing Gu

Child law expert Dr Conor O'Mahony has been appointed as special rapporteur on child protection for a three-year term. Dr O'Mahony is director of the child care law clinic at UCC, where he has supported litigation concerning children and advocated for law reform in the area of child law. He has publ

The Child Care Law Reporting Project (CCLRP) has published its first volume of case reports for 2019, featuring 47 cases including six from the High Court and one from the Court of Appeal. The issues raised in the cases include severe mental health issues among teenagers, the question of the appropr

The Law Society of Northern Ireland hosted a special event this week to discuss key issues around the Children Order. The Children Order Panel Day 2019, organised by the Children Order Panel Accreditation Board (COPAB), was held on the theme of "Vulnerability".

David Taylor, solicitor in the child and family law team at Comyn Kelleher Tobin, considers a recent High Court judgment clarifying the powers of the District Court under the Child Care Act 1991. A recent decision of the High Court found that the District Court judge was entitled to make an order un

Family law experts addressed a packed meeting at Law Society House on the private law aspects of the Children's Order. The four parts of the event, organised by the Law Society of Northern Ireland's family law committee, heard from a court children's officer (CCO), a contact centre co-ordinator, a d

The Child Care Law Reporting Project (CCLRP) has called for the establishment of a specialist family court with dedicated child care days following new evidence about over-crowding in the courts. The CCLRP recently conducted a national survey of child care in the District Court, attending a full-day

Ireland must "do better" for the small minority of children in care who come into contact with the criminal justice system, according to new research on the link between care and justice. The Irish Penal Reform Trust (IPRT) has launched a new report titled Care and Justice, authored by Dr Nicola Car

The latest tranche of case reports from the Child Care Law Reporting Project (CCLRP) reveal that homelessness is leading to children being kept in care. The second volume of 2018 case reports, now available from the project's website, includes 38 cases from all parts of the State.