New Homepage 2025

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:

    2025

    Volume:

    1

    Case number:

    54

    Categories:

    Criminality, Lack Of Placement, Mental Health

    Judge “extremely dissatisfied” that no placement for troubled teenage boy, reviewing case every two weeks

  • Year:

    2025

    Volume:

    1

    Case number:

    73

    Categories:

    Guardianship

    Judge recognises special guardianship order granted in the UK

  • Year:

    2025

    Volume:

    1

    Case number:

    27

    Categories:

    Addiction, Homelessness, Newborn

    Interim care order for newborn baby born with toxicology due to be discharged from hospital

  • Year:

    2025

    Volume:

    1

    Case number:

    7

    Categories:

    Mental Health, Neglect

    Two-year care orders made for three children who had suffered unintentional neglect

  • Year:

    2025

    Volume:

    1

    Case number:

    8

    Categories:

    Autism, Criminality

    Judge: children have been failed by both the Gardaí and the Child and Family Agency

  • Year:

    2025

    Volume:

    1

    Case number:

    9

    Categories:

    Access, In Prison

    Judge grants care order for young child whose parents in separate prisons

  • Year:

    2025

    Volume:

    1

    Case number:

    10

    Categories:

    Access, Addiction, Autism, Mental Health

    Six-month care order for seven young children, parents struggling with addiction issues

  • Year:

    2025

    Volume:

    1

    Case number:

    11

    Categories:

    Disability, Foster Care

    Three-year care order made for child with complex needs to remain in her grandparents’ care

  • Year:

    2025

    Volume:

    1

    Case number:

    53

    Categories:

    Additional Issues

    Delay in child abuse substantiation procedure by Gardaí into teenager’s allegations puts her placement in residential centre at risk

  • Year:

    2025

    Volume:

    1

    Case number:

    38

    Categories:

    Addiction, Drugs

    Interim care order extended for four-month-old boy; judge refuses to set full care order hearing to allow parents engage in treatment

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.