Dr. Carol Coulter:

We are a time-limited body. We initially came into existence for five years. The Department of Children and Youth Affairs sought to extend that period to inform the review of the Child Care Act 1991. After a competitive process, we were successful in obtaining that extension but our work is time-limited. However, it is a model that works. I recently had an opportunity to speak to child protection lawyers in England, where they are struggling to find a transparent system that works. Various attempts to amend the law have not led to adequate transparency in the English system. As each individual court determines what can and cannot be done, arguments as to what reporting can be done are sometimes completely separate from the child protection proceedings themselves. This lengthens the proceedings. It does not solve anything, and it leaves the courts and media organisations to struggle with the issue of anonymity and protecting families.

I propose a national system that could be attached to the Courts Service. As I said, the child care law reporting project is time-limited, so I am not talking about us. Such a system would ensure there was a national protocol to protect anonymity and avoid issues like the geographic identification of the courts. That is one of the dangers which exists at the moment. For example, if a local newspaper reports on proceedings, the very best efforts of The Clare Championin reporting a case in Ennis will not adequately protect a family's anonymity. However, if we ensure that geographical details are redacted as well as identifying data on the family, then reporting can show how the process works in individual cases. That model works very well. It is now prompting some international interest. A researcher is coming from the UK next week to look at how this model works to see if it could be transferred to other jurisdictions. It has managed to avoid identifying families while providing information about what happens in the courts.