Children's Rights

Ireland's age of criminal responsibility should be increased to 14 to bring it in line with European standards, the government has been urged. The Irish Council for Civil Liberties (ICCL) yesterday published its submission to the joint Oireachtas committee on justice, home affairs and migration, whi

Paediatricians have called on Northern Ireland to follow neighbouring jurisdictions in banning child smacking. At present, the law in Northern Ireland and in England allows parents to rely on a defence of "reasonable punishment" where accused of assaulting their child.

Children's rights were overlooked during the pandemic and should be given more consideration in future emergencies, the ombudsman for children has said. Dr Niall Muldoon yesterday told Ireland's independent pandemic evaluation panel that children suffered disproportionately as a result of Covid meas

Koulla Yiasouma has been appointed to chair the advisory council of Young Ireland, the Irish government's national policy framework for children and young people. Ms Yiasouma is an established leader in the area of children's rights and youth justice and previously served as Northern Ireland's commi

The Children’s Ombudsman has accused the Government of failing child victims of domestic and sexual violence and of treating his office with disrespect, following a dispute over the funding of a monitoring role linked to the State’s flagship domestic abuse strategy. Dr Niall Muldoon said

Ireland's children's ombudsman has said the full and direct incorporation of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) into Irish law is "the most important thing we can do to protect and safeguard the rights of all children in Ireland". Dr Niall Muldoon called for incorporation as a

The Supreme Court has dismissed appeals against the High Court’s refusal to prohibit the trial of three “aged out” defendants and against the “Gilchrist order” made to protect their anonymity. Delivering judgment for the Supreme Court, Ms Justice Iseult O’Malley f

AI-powered "nudification" apps should be banned because of their impact on children's safety, wellbeing and participation online, the children's rights watchdog in England has said. A new report from the English children's commissioner, Dame Rachel de Souza, warns that while creating or sharing a se

A statutory review mechanism for child deaths in Ireland should be put in place as a matter of urgency, the Ombudsman for Children's Office has said. A new report from the watchdog was launched yesterday in the National Gallery of Ireland by Judge Geoffrey Shannon, a former government special rappor

Solicitor Kathryn Stevenson has been appointed as a non-executive member to the Children's Court Guardian Agency for Northern Ireland. Ms Stevenson is head of legal services at the Children's Law Centre (CLC), which offers free legal advice and information on a wide range of children's legal rights

The next government must take further action to protect children online, the Children's Rights Alliance has said. In a statement marking World Children's Day yesterday, the NGO welcomed the coming into force of Ireland's new online safety code, but said it did not go far enough to achieve child safe

Legislation dis-applying the mandatory life sentence for a child who commits murder but turns 18 years old before sentencing has been signed into law. The Criminal Justice (Amendment) Act 2024 was fast-tracked through the Oireachtas in response to a High Court ruling which found that the existing mu

A child who commits murder but turns 18 years old before sentencing will no longer face a mandatory life sentence under proposed new legislation. The government is bringing forward the Criminal Justice (Amendment) Bill 2024 in response to a High Court ruling which found that the current statutory se

The High Court has determined that the statutory sentencing regime which distinguishes between children who are sentenced for murder prior to turning 18 and those who are adults by the time of sentencing is unconstitutional. Delivering judgment for the High Court, Mr Justice Garrett Simons stated th

Legislation requiring life sentences to be imposed on convicted murderers who are children at the time of the offence but turn 18 before their sentencing is unconstitutional, the High Court has ruled. In a judgment handed down yesterday, Mr Justice Garrett Simons said the "legitimate legislative pur