Cases

Case Reports 2026 Volume 1

Reporters from the Child Law Project attend cases in District Courts around the country selected on a random basis, and cases in the High Court involving children and young people in secure care and those made Wards of Court. We publish below the latest volume of case reports.

Given the nature of some of the cases, which can go on for many months with multiple adjournments, not all reports published below are complete, but rather reflect what happened in court on that day. We categorise the reports under six headings and multiple sub-headings, several reports could have been categorised under more than one heading.

Introduction

Care Orders

1. Care order until 18 for child who had suffered serious non-accidental injury

2. Infant taken into care until 18, older siblings all in care

3. Full care order at 41st court appearance for boy in care most of life

4. Teenager to remain in care till 18; judge refuses adjournment to hear mother’s evidence after full hearing had already taken place

5. Full care order adjourned for one day so mother could be notified

6. Care order granted for teenager whose mother recovering from a serious health crisis, father dead

7. Care order sought for three Traveller children during lengthy contested hearing

8. 18-month care order for three children placed with paternal grandparents

9. Care Order to 18 sought for child with ADHD

10. Decision reserved in care order application where mother had mild intellectual disability

11. Care order to 18 for child after 11 years in voluntary care

12. Full Care Orders granted for three children who experienced domestic violence and neglect

13. Care Order to 18 for boy whose mother in custody

14. Care Order to 18 granted for child with gender dysphoria

15. Full care order granted despite mother seeking adjournment

16. Existing care order extended to 18, mother in prison

17. Judge grants care order till 18 in uncontested hearing

18. Care order to 18 granted for a child aged 15 months where both parents in active addiction and consenting to shorter order

19. Care order granted to age of majority for two children whose father in prison, mother not involved in proceedings

20. Six-month care orders for five young children to allow parents time to address their respective issues

21. Twelve-month care order granted in respect of a very young baby whose parents struggled with chronic addiction

22. Care order extended to 18 for youth who had been the subject of prolonged exposure to domestic violence and physical harm

23. Judge grants two-year extensions to care orders for four very young children whose mother suffered from serious addiction issues

24. One-month care order for a youth on consent as mother and CFA prepare for a contested full care order hearing

25. District court judge grants a 12-month extension to the care orders for two young children

26. Care order till 18 for child in interim care with anorexia nervosa

27. Care orders for teenage boys amid mother’s mental health concerns

28. Care orders for girls whose mother suffered from mental ill-health

29. Care orders for two boys due to alcoholism and domestic violence

Interim Care Orders

30. Interim care order granted for boy with rare medical condition

31. Interim Care order granted for pre-school child as judge deems supervision order inadequate

32. Interim care order for two brothers amid severe neglect, parental addiction and mother’s psychiatric detention; GAL makes Section 47 application on placement

33. Interim care order granted as judge highlights serious issues with some legal representatives; order consented to amid parental addiction

34. Interim care order granted for baby with complex medical needs

35. Extension of interim care order pending Hague Convention habitual residency determination

36. Six-month interim care order for sisters following mother’s death

37. Interim care order for two children whose mother deceased, father consents

38. Interim care order for child where serious neglect and abuse concerns

39. Initial ICO granted for two children living with separate relatives where one had ongoing urgent medical needs

40. Interim care order application adjourned due to lack of placement; judge describes situation as “joke”

41. Judge grants interim care order for boy sleeping rough whose parents not willing to take him home

42. Parents consent to interim care order for child in relative foster care

43. Interim care order for child in voluntary care for over a decade

Extensions of Interim Care Orders

44. Interim care order extended amid concerns about mother’s mental health

45. Care orders for four girls extended to age of 18

46. Interim care order extended amid concerns about parental drug use and mental health

47. Interim care order extended for teenager repeatedly missing from Special Emergency Arrangement amid fears his life at risk

48. Interim care orders extended for four children amid uncertainty about placements

49. Interim care order extended for baby taken into care aged two weeks; mother asks High Court to intervene to permit breast-feeding

50. Privacy granted for therapeutic notes of girl in interim care; ICO extended

51. Child in interim care remains with mother in “supported living arrangement”

52. Judge grants two-month extension of interim care orders for ten siblings

53. Judge agrees to meet with the teenager to hear her views and rejects mother’s application to dispense with interpreter

54. Interim care order extended for a week to allow service of care order application for infant on mother actively in addiction

55. Interim care order extended on consent for baby in care since birth; reports to be shared for parental capacity assessment

56. Interim care order extended for three siblings where parents not present

57. Interim care order extended in case involving long-term parental disengagement and citizenship application

58. Interim care order extended where child had made serious allegations of physical and sexual abuse

59. Interim care order extended for two children living in a supportive living arrangement with their mother who remains the primary care giver

60. Extension of interim care order for children where youngest had unexplained injuries

61. Interim care orders extended for three young children where sexual abuse suspected

62. Short extension of interim care order for child repeatedly missing in care; Judge: “Did we do enough to prevent this happening?”

63. Interim care order extended for two children as putative father removed from proceedings

64. Interim Care Order extended while mother accuses social work department of neglect of infant in care

65. Interim care order extended for child in SEA for 12 months despite concerns about inappropriate placement and social worker changes

66. Interim care order extended amid further disclosures of abuse by child

67. Interim care order extended where recently identified father seeking responsibility for infant

Supervision Orders

68. Six-month supervision order so that assessment can take place of the care being given to three very young children

69. Judge grants short supervision order to allow all avenues of support to be explored before considering full care orders for autistic children

70. Judge refuses six-month supervision order, considers care order application more appropriate

71. Supervision order re-entered where teenager suffering serious medical condition, medical treatment refused

72. Three-month Supervision Order granted in place of interim care order application which adjourned

73. Judge refuses second six-month supervision order for two children, grants liberty to seek interim care order later

Applications under Section 47 of Child Care Act

74. Placement found for vulnerable teenager following Section 47 application

75. Judge insists urgent application be made for special care placement for teenager who absconded from residential unit

76. Judge directs provision of explanatory affidavit to support lifting in camera rule in order to release social worker’s report to psychologist

77. Section 47 directions sought regarding Holy Communion for two children

78. Order made preventing parents from contacting child in care

Unaccompanied Minors

79. Interim care orders for unaccompanied minor brothers

80. Orders granted for two unaccompanied minors

81. Care order granted for separated minor seeking international protection

82. Extension of interim care order for 12-year-old unaccompanied minor

Reviews and Re-entries

83. Judge directs teenage girl is not to be moved from residential placement and requires staff not to redact critical event notifications

84. Case adjourned to clarify placement and regulatory issues while parents sought access and updates

85. Re-entered care case adjourned for a week while garda vetting for new placement is resolved

86. Serious concern expressed by court where child missing from care placement

87. Review after transfer of child with gender dysphoria to €1 million Scottish placement

88. Aftercare review for child who was told she might be left homeless

89. Judge re-enters care order following placement breakdown where child in a children’s hospital ward as a social admission

90. Judge maintains oversight of finding a step-down placement for a young teenage boy whose current placement being closed down

91. Judge reviews care orders for four children; judicial review sought

92. Final care order review for young girl due to age out of the Child and Family Agency’s care

93. Care order reviews of three children whose parents had died of drug related causes

94. Court reviews long-term care orders for four boys with ongoing needs

95. Review of the one-year care orders for three young children whose mother had longstanding addictions and a chaotic lifestyle

Legal Issues

96. GAL opposes care order extension, seeks order till 18; Judge reserves decision and refers a question of law to the High Court by way of a consultative case stated

97. ICO hearing delayed due to listing clash while urgent concerns remained regarding child’s needs

98. Judge refuses to extend an interim care order due to failure to serve the child’s mother; emergency care order granted for a week

99. Interim care order application adjourned for one day as Court Service unable to facilitate late hearing

Other

100. Increased access refused in suspected non-accidental injury case

101. Judge raises concerns over mobile phone use by children in care

102. Access order amended to promote access between mother and child in care after five years without contact

103. Enhanced rights granted to foster carers by District Court

104. Nine-year-old access order amended following objections from child

105. Judge allows teenager travel unaccompanied by adult to another European country for holiday with grandmother

106. Judge meets with young person he put into care, hears plans for future