James Reilly (Dublin North, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The child care law reporting project is an independent project established under section 3 of the Child Care (Amendment) Act 2007 in accordance with the regulations made under that Act, with the support of the One Foundation, Atlantic Philanthropies and the Department of Children and Youth Affairs.

The aims and objectives of the project are to provide information to the public on child care proceedings in the courts; to conduct research on these proceedings in order to promote debate and inform policy-makers, which is what we are doing here today; to make recommendations to address any shortcomings in the care system identified by the research; to assist in the implementation of these recommendations; and to promote confidence in the care system. The project will provide a measure of the effectiveness of current systems and policies in the area of child protection and that of court administration. Ultimately it will assist the Department in gaining a greater depth of knowledge and understanding of care cases and it will increase the evidence base on which future policy formulation is based.

The project pursues its aims and objectives by attending the courts where care cases are heard in order to report on those proceedings while protecting the anonymity of the children and their families. The project publishes reports of care cases for the public and all relevant stakeholders, collects and analyses data from the proceedings, publishes reports on the nature and outcomes of the care proceedings and seeks to promote a public debate on the issues raised through seminars and conferences.

Child care cases, heard mainly in the District Court, involve applications by the Child and Family Agency for orders to protect children, including supervision orders, emergency and interim care orders and full care orders. Under supervision orders, families receive help and supervision from the agency. Under care orders, a child is placed in care on either an interim or a more permanent basis. The cases are heard in camerain order to protect the privacy of the children and their families. There are rarely written judgments in the District Court.

The second interim report, published last month, reported that while the majority, 70.4%, of the respondents in care cases are Irish, this is substantially less than the proportion of Irish-born people in the population as a whole. Some 7% of the respondents are European, the vast majority of whom come from Eastern Europe. The next largest category is "mixed", meaning that at least one parent is not Irish. This category includes two or more non-Irish parents from different backgrounds as well as Irish and non-Irish parents. Almost 4% of the respondents are recorded as Irish Travellers.

There is quite a bit more in the reply and, as I know the Deputy is concerned about this issue, after she asks her supplementary question I will come back to it.

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