The District Court said the Health Service Executive should meet the reasonable cost of a respondent’s legal representation in Emergency Care Order and Interim Care Order proceedings when the respondent cannot afford it and no other body will provide or fund the necessary representation.
The ruling, dated 9 June 2010, followed an application by the first named respondent for costs connected with three HSE applications: an Emergency Care Order application on 18 March 2010, an Interim Care Order application on 25 March, and an application to extend the Interim Care Order on 20 April.
The judgment records that the parties accepted the first respondent would not, or was most unlikely to, obtain Legal Aid Board representation in time for hearings on the Emergency Care Order and Interim Care Order applications, assuming she otherwise qualified. The HSE opposed the costs application. The first respondent made brief oral submissions about the urgency and nature of the case; the HSE’s submissions were set out in a letter dated 20 May 2010.
The court reasoned that these applications are urgent and of momentous importance, and that parents or guardians can help the court assess the child’s welfare and whether the legal threshold for an order is met. It said court assistance does not replace having a lawyer, while an adjournment to arrange representation may be unsuitable without considering the application’s merits—and that consideration also requires the respondent’s case to be heard.
The judgment said lack of affordable representation could prevent a respondent from fully presenting their case, to the detriment of the child’s welfare. It relied on the Child Care Act 1991, including provisions concerning the HSE’s functions, its duty to institute proceedings in specified circumstances, and the child’s welfare as the court’s first and paramount consideration.
The source sets out the court’s reasoning on who should bear reasonable representation costs. It does not state the amount claimed, whether the first respondent otherwise qualified for Legal Aid, or a specific order granting or refusing the costs application.