The Children Act, 2001
The Children Act, 2001 is an important piece of legislation in the area of children and families. The act makes further provision in relation to the care, protection and control of Children and, in particular, to replace the Children Act, 1908, and other enactments relating to juvenile offenders, to amend and extend the Child Care Act, 1991. The Act is a piece of legislation which provides a framework for the development of the juvenile justice system and makes provision for addressing the needs of out-of-control, non-offending children who have been appearing in the High Court in recent times. The Act focuses on prevention and rehabilitation rather than on punishment, with an emphasis away from residential and custodial care towards care in the community, supporting the principle in the Act that detention will be an option of absolute resort. The Act provides two distinct pathways to meet the need of both groups of children;
The Act also introduces a wide range of innovative measures that will provide a statutory framework for the future development of the juvenile justice system in Ireland in accordance with modern thinking and best practice.
The Act also places Family Welfare Conferencing arrangements and the Garda Diversion Programme on a statutory basis. Three Government Departments, i.e. Justice, Equality and Law Reform, Education and Science and Health and Children, and their respective agencies, are involved in implementing the Act. The Office of the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs is coordinating the implementation of the Act.
For further information on the Children Act, 2001 contact:
Office of the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, Hawkins House, Dublin 2.
Tel: (01) 635 4000. Fax: (01) 674 3223
E-mail:omc@health.gov.ie. Web: www.omcya.ie
The Child Care Act, 1991
This legislation places certain statutory duties on the health boards (replaced in 2005 by the HSE) as service providers, including that of promoting the welfare of children who are not receiving adequate care and protection, of providing child care and family support services and of identifying children at risk. It also obliges the health boards (replaced in 2005 by the HSE) to give due consideration to the wishes of the child and to "have regard to the principle that it is generally in the best interests of a child to be brought up in his own family" (S 3.2c).
The act also lays down guidelines for the statutory relationship between agency and court, so that health boards (replaced in 2005 by the HSE) have a duty to seek an order from the court in certain circumstances. Various orders exist which may be used in child protection work: e.g. Emergency Protection Order, Interim Care Order, Supervision Order, and Care Order.
Under the Child Care Act, 1991, a Guardian ad Litem service is offered to children who are the subject of legal proceedings. The guardian is an independent officer appointed by a judge to provide an independent report to the court on the child's best interest, having taken the wishes of the child into account. The act does not specify a social work qualification requirement for Guardian ad Litem posts.
As part of the implementation of the Child Care Act, 1991, the Children First - National Guidelines for the Protection and Welfare of Children 1999 were developed, dealing with child abuse and mistreatment. The aims and objectives of these guidelines are wide-ranging and emphasise child protection and family support by way of early intervention, multi-disciplinary co-operation, training, supervision, adequate resources and support services. In 2009, the Children First - National Guidelines for the Protection and Welfare of Children were amended and up-dated to reflect progress made since 1999 in relation to legislation, policy direction, service developments and organizational restructuring.
The Children Acts Advisory Board is an independent statutory board, advising the Ministers for Health and Children and Justice Equality and Law Reform. The key function of the Board is to advise the Ministers on policy relating to the co-ordinated delivery of services under the Child Care Act, 1991 (care, protection and welfare) and the Children Act, 2001 (detention).
The Children Acts Advisory Board (CAAB): www.caab.ie
Children First: National Guidelines for the Protection and Welfare of Children is available at: http://www.omcya.ie/documents/childcare/ChildrenFirst.pdf
Our Children - Their Lives: the National Children's Strategy 2000 is available at http://www.omc.gov.ie/viewdoc.asp?fn=%2Fdocuments%2FAboutus%2Fstrat.htm
Developments in childcare between 1990 and 2005 can be found at: http://www.dohc.ie/press/releases/2005/childcare_developments_20051025.html
In the area of family law, divorce came into law in the Republic of Ireland in 1996 through the Family Law (Divorce) Act, 1996. This act also deals with custody of children and a range of financial issues relating to divorce.
Nestor, J. An Introduction to Irish Family Law, 3rd Edition. 2007. Dublin: Gill and Macmillan Ltd.
Family Legislation Service 2000, Conor Power (ed). Dublin: Round Hall, is a loose leaf compendium of family and child law legislation in the Republic of Ireland, which can be updated with new legislation as it is passed.
The Children Act, 1997 covers issues resulting from divorce. It recognises natural fathers as guardians, allows parents to have joint custody of children after separation or divorce, sanctions the consideration of children's views in guardianship, and deals with access and custody matters.
Under the Domestic Violence Act, 1996 , health boards (replaced in 2005 by the HSE) are empowered to intervene to protect individuals and their children from violence through the use of protection, safety and barring orders.
The main provisions of the Protections for Persons Reporting Child Abuse Act, 1998 offer immunity from civil liability to those who report child abuse, including employees. It also creates a new offence of "false reporting of child abuse", designed to protect innocent persons from malicious reports.
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