Plan would allow public to go to court over children at risk

ANY PERSON should be able to apply to court to seek to have a child at risk placed in the care system under proposals being examined by the Government.

It is one of dozens of recommendations in a report from the Government’s special rapporteur on child protection published yesterday.

At present only the Health Service Executive (HSE) may take court proceedings to have a child placed in the care system. However the report says any person should be able to seek an order in respect of a child who is not subject to care proceedings. Such a move should only be allowed in “exceptional circumstances” to discourage nuisance applications.

In addition, it would only apply in cases in which a child had previously been brought to the attention of social services. An applicant would also need to show “reasonable grounds” to believe the child had not been receiving adequate care and protection.

The proposal comes just weeks after the Independent Child Death Review Group found that social services had “abdicated their duty” by failing to protect the welfare of many vulnerable young people who were known to the HSE.

The special rapporteur on child protection, Dr Geoffrey Shannon, was appointed in 2006 to audit legal developments in the area of child law and to draw up proposals on how to strengthen child protection.

In addition to children who are not in the care system, the report expresses concern that some young people are spending years in institutional care or in multiple placements because of the lack of “suitable” foster families. It recommends that a shortage of foster placements be addressed without delay. Other proposals include:

* Ensuring all non-EU national parents of Irish citizen children are given permission to remain in Ireland, on foot of a landmark European court judgment last year.

* Inserting a reference in the referendum on children’s rights in the Constitution to the right of children to be heard in all judicial and administrative proceedings affecting them.

Minister for Children Frances Fitzgerald said many of the wide-ranging reports were being acted on or were under consideration.

“The key message in this report is that we must continue to implement our ongoing reform agenda for children and families,” she said.