The District Court granted the Health Service Executive a care order for a child until the age of 18, finding that the child’s health, development and welfare was likely to be avoidably impaired or neglected without the order. The court also approved the HSE care plan and directed supervised, supported access between the child and mother.
The application under section 18(1) of the Child Care Act 1991 concerned a child born in June 2012. The judgment says the mother did not contest the application for an order until the child reached 18, and admitted the facts in the HSE’s findings document. Medical reports were admitted, and the court heard evidence from the allocated social worker and the child’s Guardian ad Litem (GAL). The father’s identity was unknown and the court was satisfied he could not be notified.
The HSE’s case was that the mother’s mental ill health, cognitive impairment and substance misuse left her without the functional capacity to care consistently for a baby. The social worker said returning the child to the mother, even with significant support, would expose the child to avoidable and unintentional harm or neglect. The GAL supported a care order and said the child was thriving with the foster carers, while also emphasising the importance of preserving the bond with the mother.
The court found that the section 18(1)(c) threshold was met. It said the evidence showed an enduring functional incapacity that made it unsafe for the mother to be the child’s primary carer, and that a supervision order and support services would not be sufficient. The court approved the care plan; the GAL also approved it.
Under section 37, the court placed access at the HSE’s discretion. The arrangement outlined in court was one and a half hours of supervised, supported access every two weeks, unless otherwise agreed or the HSE determined it was not in the child’s best interests. Under section 47, the HSE was directed to ensure the mother had an advocate or mental health support worker to help her engage during access, with other supports tailored to her needs.
The court also directed the HSE to bring the case back if the long-term placement matching process with the current foster carers had not been completed by 5 June 2013. The GAL was to remain until matching was complete and an amended care plan approved by the GAL and filed in court. Further return directions applied if the case was without a designated social worker or fostering link worker for six weeks, or if the current foster placement changed. The court directed an after-care review on the child’s 17th birthday and granted liberty to apply.