Children in care to have holiday abroad without parental approval, court rules

Two children in the care of the State will be allowed to travel out of the country on a summer holiday with their foster carers without the permission of their parents, the Dublin District Family Court has ruled.

Judge Brendan Toale dispensed with the requirement of parental approval for passports in two separate cases yesterday.

The court heard the foster carer of one young child wanted to bring her charge, to whom she is related, on a family holiday abroad, but the girl’s mother had refused to sign for a passport.

The social worker said the mother, who did not appear in court, had not seen her child for more than a year, but had said she would not agree to her having a passport. The girl had been in the care of her relative since birth and that she was “very well-settled”, the social worker said.

The child’s father, who attended court, said he wanted his daughter to have a holiday.

Judge Toale said he was satisfied it was in the best interests of the child to be allowed to be “a full member of the family” and that included going on holiday. He dispensed with the need for the mother’s consent for a passport.

Parental consent

The judge also dispensed with the need for parental consent for the passport of an infant whose foster carers wanted to bring her and her sister abroad. The girl’s older sister already had a passport, but the parents had failed to appear in court to consent for the younger child. There was “a pattern of inconsistency and not showing up for court dates”, the court heard.

The social worker said the foster family had not yet booked a holiday as they did not want to go if they could not bring the baby.

The judge said it was in the infant’s interests to go on holiday and it was in the interests of the foster carers to be able to plan a holiday on a normal basis.

Separately, the judge directed that specialist private therapy for a recovering alcoholic who hopes to be reunited with her children should be funded by the Child and Family Agency. He also extended the interim care order for her children.

The solicitor for the mother said her client had understood that if she remained sober, she could expect to have her children back.

She said her client had “done everything that had been asked of her” including attending addiction services, remaining sober and getting a part-time job. She had also agreed to attend specialist therapy recommended by a parental capacity assessor, but the therapy had not yet been started.

The assessor told the court the mother was performing well in terms of abstinence, but was not ready to take “full responsibility for her children”. The mother needed the specialist therapy so she could develop the ability to emotionally engage with her children at a “consistent and appropriate level”, the assessor said.

A solicitor for the agency said a private therapist had been identified, but funding had not yet been approved. Waiting lists for the therapy within its own service were six months.