Private Foster Care A “private foster care arrangement” means any arrangement or undertaking whereby a child is for more than 14 days in the full-time care, for reward or otherwise, of a person other than his or her parent or guardian, a person cohabiting with a parent or guardian or a relative, except where the child— is residing at a boarding school and receiving full-time […]
Special Care or Protection The 2001 Act amends and extends the Child Care Act, 1991, by the insertion of a new Part IVA into that Act to provide the CFAs (now the CFA) with an additional range of powers so as to ensure that nonoffending children who are out of control receive special care, education and treatment. There is a statutory duty on the CFA […]
Guardianship Under the Guardianship of Infants Act, any guardian may apply to court to determine any question relating to the child’s welfare. In this context, a child is a person under 18 years. The court may make such order relating to the child’s welfare as it thinks proper. The orders may relate to guardianship, custody, access and other welfare issues. A guardian is a person […]
Parental rights and duties The 2010 Act provides that when an adoption order is made or where an adoption effected outside the State is recognised under this Act, the child concerned shall be considered as the child of the adopters and the birth parents or guardian shall lose all parental rights and be freed from all parental duties with respect to the child (unless the […]
Visits and enquiries The Adoption Authority and the Child and Family Agency may authorise a member or employee to visit the homes of the child, the guardian of the child, the applicants for an adoption order or for the recognition of an intercountry adoption and the person having custody of the child for the purpose of an adoption and to make enquiries on the Authority’s […]
Father and Others The 2010 Act provides that the father of a child may give written notice to the Authority, before or after the birth, of his wish to be consulted in relation to the placement of the child for adoption, or in relation to an application for an adoption order by the mother or a relative of the child. The Children and Family Relationships […]
Children who may be adopted The Authority shall not make an adoption order in respect of a child unless— the child resides in the State, and is, at the date of the making of the adoption order, less than 18 years of age, the child has in a case where the applicant is a step parent of the child, a home with the child’s parent […]
Register of Accredited Bodies he Adoption Societies Register kept the Adoption Act 1952 by An Bord Uchtála is continued in being and, on and is to be known as the register of accredited bodies, and kept and maintained under this Act by the Authority. Entries in the register of accredited bodies shall be in the form and contain the particulars required. The register of accredited bodies shall […]
Separation from HSE The main object of the Child and Family Agency Act is to provide for the establishment of the Child and Family Agency. The Agency will, on the establishment day, assume responsibility for functions currently performed by the Health Service Executive relating to child welfare and protection. In addition, the functions transferring to the Agency will include the provision of services relating to […]
Birth Information and Tracing Act The Act seeks to enshrine in law the importance of a person knowing his or her origins. It provides for the full and unredacted release of birth and early life information to persons who have attained the age of 16 years. In summary, the Act provides for: Release of the birth certificate, birth information, early life information, care information and […]
Purpose of the 2022 Act Guardian ad litem [GAL] appointments for children who are the subject of public law child care proceedings are currently provided for under the Child Care Act 1991. Child Care (Amendment) Act 2022 provides for the appointment of a guardian ad litem where a child is not party to the proceedings and where the Court is satisfied that it is necessary in […]
Protection of Children in Emergencies This Part enables the Gardai or CFA staff to intervene quickly where there is an immediate and serious threat to the safety and welfare of a child. The Gardai may remove to safety, without warrant, a child who is in immediate danger where it would not be sufficient to await the making of an application for an emergency care order […]
Introduction The purpose of the Child Act is to up-date the law in relation to the care of children, particularly children who have been assaulted, ill-treated, neglected or sexually abused or who are at risk. The main provisions of the Act are as follows: – the placing of a statutory duty on the Child and Family Agency (CFA) to promote the welfare of children who […]
Aftercare Plan Required The Child Care (Amendment) Act 2015 strengthens the provisions regarding aftercare. It imposes a statutory duty on the Child and Family Agency to prepare an aftercare plan for an eligible child or eligible adults. The purpose is to create an explicit statement of the Agency’s duty to satisfy itself as to the child or adult’s need for assistance by preparing a plan […]
Duty Where an entertainment for children or any entertainment to which the majority of persons attending are children is provided, the number of children who attend exceeds one hundred, and access to any part of the building in which children are accommodated is by stairs, escalator or lift or other mechanical means, it is the duty of the person who provides the entertainment to station, keep stationed […]
Purpose of Act The purpose of the National Vetting Bureau (Children and Vulnerable Persons) Act 2012 is to provide a legislative basis for the vetting of persons who seek positions of employment relating to children or vulnerable persons. Currently persons applying for such positions are vetted on a non-statutory basis. This Act will make this vetting mandatory. The Act will not apply to: any work […]
Legislation Criminal Justice (Withholding of Information on Offences against Children and Vulnerable Persons) Act 2012 establishes an offence of withholding information in relation to specified offences committed against a child or vulnerable person. The offence arises where a person knows or believes that a specified offence has been committed against a child or vulnerable person and he or she has information which would be of material […]
2012 Act The Criminal Justice (Withholding of Information on Offences against Children and Vulnerable Persons) Act 2012 provides an offence of withholding information in relation to specified offences against children and vulnerable persons. It arises where a person knows or believes that a specified offence is being committed against a child or vulnerable person and is information which would be of material assistance in securing […]
Application for Order The Civil Law (Presumption of Death) Act 2019 provides for the civil status of a missing person where the circumstances of his or her absence leads to a presumption of death. A missing person is defined as an individual whose existence has become uncertain, because he or she has disappeared without trace and there are no signs that he or she is […]
Affidavit of Means In any case where financial relief under any of the Acts to which the principal part of the CC Rules applies is sought, the parties shall file Affidavits of Means. Where a Defence and/or Counterclaim has been filed, each party shall, unless the other party dispenses in writing with the requirement of vouching, vouch his Affidavit of Means. This is to be […]
Case Progression The purpose of case progression is to ensure that proceedings are prepared for trial in a manner which is just, expeditious and likely to minimise the costs of the proceedings and that the time and other resources of the court are employed optimally. Listing of proceedings for case progression (Dublin Circuit) Where: both parties have lodged a joint certificate of completion (signed by […]
Appearance A Respondent shall enter an Appearance in the Office within 10 days of the service upon him of a Family Law Civil Bill. Where required, the appropriate statutory declaration made pursuant to section 5 of the Judicial Separation Act or section 6 of the Divorce Act, which shall be in the Form 37D of the Schedule of Forms, shall be filed together with the […]
Family Law Civil Bill where divorce is claimed A Family Law Civil Bill in which a Decree of Divorce is sought shall include the following details— the date and place of marriage of the parties; the length of time the parties have lived apart, including the date upon which the parties commenced living apart, and the addresses of both of the parties during that time, […]
Right of Burial At common law, every parishioner and inhabitant in the parish and every person dying within the parish had the right to be buried in the parish churchyard. If the parish was divided into ecclesiastical districts and there was no burial ground within the district, the bodies of persons lying in a district could be interred in the cemetery of the parish church. […]
Background Registration of births, deaths and marriages came relatively late to Great Britain and Ireland. After the Reformation in England, the established church was required to keep registers of baptisms, weddings and funerals. There were penalties for non-compliance but compliance standards were not high. The first comprehensive civil registration act was enacted after a number of failed attempts in 1836. It applied to England and […]
Nature of Registration Registration of births does not register a person’s name or the person in any broader sense. It registers the date of birth, together with particulars of name, place of birth and details of parents. The parental details are not necessarily final. See separately under Family Law in relation to the legislation on the non-marital father. See also the section on health in […]
Overview Ireland does not maintain registers of individuals’ identities. Birth certificates record facts of birth that are not proof of any identity. They do not provide a unique identifier or any means of linking to a particular person. Unlike other jurisdictions, there is no provision in Ireland for identity cards. In practice, passports and driving licenses are commonly used for identification and verification purposes. This […]
General A name at common law is a means of identifying a person and distinguishing him from others. A person’s name is not subject to registration as such. It is a matter of fact and practice. A name usually comprises a forename/Christian name and a surname. There may commonly be a further second hyphenated name and one or more further middle names. Traditionally, a Christian […]
Register of Deaths The registrar maintains a register of deaths. Where a death occurs in the State, it is the duty of the deceased’s relative who has knowledge of the required particulars in relation to the death to notify the registrar of the death within three months using the form required. If there is no such relative who can be found or every relative is […]
Venue for proceedings Family Circuit Court proceedings shall be brought in the county where any party to the proceedings ordinarily resides or carries on any profession, business or occupation. Proceedings for the appointment of a guardian for a child shall be brought in the county where the applicant or the child to whom the application relates ordinarily resides or carries on any profession, business or […]
Power of the Agency The Child and Family Agency may apply for safety, barring and emergency barring orders on behalf of a person (or a dependant) whose safety or welfare it believes to be at risk of violence and who is being deterred or prevented from making an application because of this risk of violence. Where a court is dealing with an application under the […]
Reformed Law The Domestic Violence Act 2018 amends and consolidates the law in relation to domestic violence. The Act also includes new provisions that were required in order for Ireland to be able to ratify the Council of Europe Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence against Women and Domestic Violence, more commonly known as the Istanbul Convention. Ireland signed the Istanbul Convention in November 2015. […]
Background The Marriage Act 2015 allows couples to marry without distinction as to their sex. It followed the amendment to the Constitution passed by referendum on 22 May 2015, inserting Article 41.4 of the Constitution. The Referendum provided that “Marriage may be contracted in accordance with law by two persons without distinction as to their sex.”. The Act commenced on 16 November 2015. This date […]
Former Prohibition The Irish courts did not have jurisdiction to grant a divorce until 1996. The Matrimonial Causes Act 1857, which created a possibility of judicial divorce on very narrow grounds, was never extended to Ireland. When the Irish Free State was formed, there existed the possibility of divorce by private Parliamentary Act. The Irish Free State Oireachtas received three private bills for divorce lodged […]
Background In 1989 there was neither divorce nor a modern system of judicial separation. Divorce a Mensa et Toro was an old procedure that might be granted where it was shown that one party to the marriage was at fault, having committed adultery, cruelty (physical or mental) or “unnatural practices”. Its effect was to relieve the parties of the technical obligation to live together. Limited […]
Maintenance The Child and Family Relationship Act 2015 amends the law on the maintenance of spouses and children to take into account the fact that the unmarried parents of a dependent child may be parents of the same sex. They allow the Court, in certain circumstances, to order payment of maintenance by a cohabitant of a child’s parent for support of the child. The amended […]
Parents & Third Parties The Guardianship of Infants Act applies to custody disputes between parents and third parties. The former Constitutional protection of the family and parental rights was such that it was only in very exceptional circumstances that an outsider would be preferred to a parent. However, exceptionally, where the welfare of the child so requires custody may be given to a third party. […]