Maureen O'Sullivan (Dublin Central, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister. My question relates to newborn babies, which is a very sensitive and emotive topic. No one denies that there are times when - for their safety and welfare - babies need to be removed from the care of their parents. Section 12 allows the Garda some discretion and my understanding is that it is used in a humane way. Difficulty arises when there is a court order and gardaí must forcibly remove a newborn baby. Forcibly removing a baby is not good childcare practice. It causes great distress for everybody involved, the parents, the gardaí, the hospital staff, Tusla staff and the legal people involved. We have examples of where that has happened.

I take the point that a baby's welfare and health are paramount. The court order, however, does not give any room for alternatives to be considered, for example, detaining a baby in hospital for a few more days with supervised access for the mother. The European Convention on Human Rights makes it clear that all possible alternatives to removal have to be considered and that it has to be proportionate. There have been cases where it has not been proportionate.

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