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Reporting on child care proceedings in the District Court in May 2025.

Falling Through the Cracks: An Analysis of Child Care Proceedings from 2021 to 2024
Latest volume of court reports from 2024
A summary of findings from 10 years of reporting

  • Year:

    2023

    Volume:

    2

    Case number:

    41

    Categories:

    Introduction

    Judge seeks improvements to social work reports presented to court

  • Year:

    2023

    Volume:

    2

    Case number:

    40

    Categories:

    Aftercare, Autism, Disability, Mental Health

    Aftercare review of girl with special needs expects application under new capacity Act

  • Year:

    2023

    Volume:

    2

    Case number:

    39

    Categories:

    Placement Breakdown

    Interim care order extended for one week while CFA sources furniture and school uniforms prior to children going home following placement breakdown

  • Year:

    2023

    Volume:

    2

    Case number:

    38

    Categories:

    Foster Care Rights

    Foster parents granted enhanced rights with birth parents’ consent

  • Year:

    2023

    Volume:

    2

    Case number:

    37

    Categories:

    Behavioural Problems, Mental Health

    Redacted psychologist’s report on two preschool children released to foster carers

  • Year:

    2023

    Volume:

    2

    Case number:

    36

    Categories:

    Voice Of The Child

    GAL reappointed for child in care for 10 years; father unaware of parentage until care order made

  • Year:

    2023

    Volume:

    2

    Case number:

    35

    Categories:

    Addiction, Habitual Residence, In Prison, Newborn

    Judge decides Irish habitual residence of baby born to parents from European country no longer living in Ireland

  • Year:

    2023

    Volume:

    2

    Case number:

    34

    Categories:

    Section 47

    Application to refer CFA’s ‘Signs of Safety’ policy to Ombudsman for Children adjourned pending internal review

  • Year:

    2023

    Volume:

    2

    Case number:

    33

    Categories:

    Lack Of Educational Support, Mental Health, Non-Attendance At School

    Following intervention by court home tuition provided for teenager who had had no secondary education

  • Year:

    2023

    Volume:

    2

    Case number:

    32

    Categories:

    Change Of Placement, Placement Breakdown, Section 47

    Dublin District Court directs the CFA to prepare a detailed care plan for a vulnerable teenager who had had large number of emergency placements

This follows the discontinuation of its reporting in July 2024, as the contract with the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth (DCEDIY) was coming to an end. We are very pleased that we signed a new two-year Agreement with the DCEDY in March and the members of our reporting panel have agreed to resume their work.

Over a twelve-year period, the Project provided information to the public on the operation of the child care system in the courts with the aim of promoting transparency and accountability. It published 1,050 individual court reports and a number of analytical research reports, all of which are available on this website.