Child Care Law

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

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