The Dublin Metropolitan District Court granted the Child and Family Agency an interim care order for two children for 28 days, finding reasonable cause to believe they had been ill-treated and neglected, primarily while living with their mother. The court said it was necessary to place them in the agency’s care to protect their health and welfare.
The written decision followed three days of evidence from 11 witnesses on the agency’s application under section 17(1) of the Child Care Act 1991. The order is interim; the court adjourned the matter for a mention two weeks later, with legal representatives only, alongside a section 47 application.
The children, identified in the judgment as LL and MM, were aged 15 and six. They had lived with a relative, identified as CC, under a private family arrangement since early 2023, after their older sibling took them from their mother’s home amid reported concerns about their safety and care. The judgment said the children had additional needs, including developmental delays and autism.
The agency first sought a supervision order in September 2024, then replaced that application with an interim care order application in October. The hearing was adjourned six times while the agency sought placements. On the first day of the hearing, the court was told that a residential placement had been found for both children together.
The mother and relative carer contested the application and wanted the children to remain with CC. The mother told the court she was not currently able to care for them and hoped to enter residential treatment. The relative carer acknowledged that caring for the children had been difficult but wanted them to stay with her. The children’s Guardian ad Litem supported the interim order, citing their needs and concerns about their welfare.
The judge said the finding of ill-treatment and neglect related primarily to the children’s time living with their mother, and was not a finding that they had been ill-treated or neglected while with CC. The judgment commended CC for taking them in during difficult circumstances.
The court directed the agency to draw up and circulate a written access plan for the mother and CC, put a therapeutic plan and timeline for services and supports in place, and maintain the children’s school placements, particularly LL’s. The judgment also raised questions about the agency’s handling of the case and criticised wider shortcomings in the child protection system, including placement shortages.