merrion street

Children’s Minister Frances Fitzgerald has welcomed the setting up of a project which will report and carry out research on child care hearings in the courts. Former Legal Affairs Editor of the Irish Times, Dr. Carol Coulter, will run the five year independent research and reporting project.

These cases are heard in camera in order to protect the privacy of the families. There are rarely written judgments in the District Court.

The rationale for the Child Care Law Reporting Project is to gain a greater depth of knowledge and understanding of such cases with a view to informing future policy formulation and public awareness of the child protection and courts process.

The project will involve attendance at a representative selection of cases in the District Courts in order to prepare and publish on a designated website reports of these proceedings and to collect data that will provide the basis for an analysis of how the system is working.

Dr. Coulter said:

I am a firm believer in the administration of justice in public in order to promote public confidence in the justice system and permit debate on changes that may be necessary. I recognise that this must have some limitations to protect the privacy of family members in both private family law, involving internal disputes within a family, and public family law, where the State intervenes.

However, privacy is not the same as secrecy. I think it is very possible to report on family law in a manner that does not lead to the identification of the individuals involved and further victimise vulnerable children and adults. I am committed to doing so through this project.

I also believe that policy-making in this area, as in others, must be informed by information on how the system is working and where its failings lie. That is why this project will combine reporting on child-care proceedings with the collection of data that can provide the basis for an analysis of the existing system and recommendations for improving it in the future.