The District Court has ordered the Child and Family Agency (CFA) to pay reasonable solicitors’ costs for a mother and the father of Child 2 after finding that leaving them to bear the costs of lengthy and complex child-care proceedings would cause particular injustice.
Judge Rosemary Horgan said the case was an exceptional one because of the combination of circumstances, including the parents’ vulnerabilities, the needs of the three children and the complexity of their care arrangements. The costs are to be measured by the court on submission of a fully itemised bill if the parties cannot agree the amount.
The CFA had brought proceedings seeking care orders for the mother’s three youngest children, identified in the judgment as Child 1, Child 2 and Child 3. The court said the CFA was entitled and obliged to bring the proceedings, acted in good faith and had an evidentiary basis. It found that the Agency had not wasted the court’s time and that no unfairness arose from its conduct.
The children had different fathers and were in separate placements. The case was listed on 18 occasions. The court described it as factually complex, involving the children’s welfare, historical concerns about neglect and parental capacity, and the need to balance their safety against unnecessary intrusion into a parent’s life.
A Guardian Ad Litem raised concerns about services provided to the children and sought permission to refer them to the Ombudsman for Children. The court permitted a referral concerning Child 1. The Ombudsman’s office said the concerns were legitimate but decided not to investigate further, noting that the CFA had conducted an internal review and implemented redress and reflective-practice measures.
The mother’s legal team and the father of Child 2 argued that the length and complexity of the proceedings, and their clients’ particular circumstances, justified costs under the Supreme Court’s decision in Child and Family Agency v OA. The Agency accepted that the case may have been exceptional on its facts but argued that the legal issues were not exceptional.
Judge Horgan found that the parents’ legal teams had acted appropriately and fairly. She concluded that both parents would suffer particular injustice if left to pay their own costs of care proceedings that became lengthy and complex for reasons beyond their control. The order is limited to reasonable solicitors’ costs in favour of the mother and the father of Child 2; the judgment does not specify a final amount.