The Child Law Project, (known as the Child Care Law Reporting Project (CCLRP) until 2022; ) is an Irish

statutory body A statutory body or statutory authority is a body set up by law (statute) that is authorised to implement certain legislation on behalf of the relevant country or state, sometimes by being Primary and secondary legislation, empowered or deleg ...

established to produce research and journalism. The body sent court reporters to relevant proceedings, including prosecutions of minors, in Irish courts from 2012 to 2024, compiling regular reports.

History

The project was established in 2012, under the Child Care (Amendment) Act 2007, with seeding provided by the

One Foundation The One Foundation (), formally known as the Shenzhen One Foundation Charity Fund (), is a Chinese non-governmental organization which focuses on disaster relief, children's welfare, training of public welfare professionals, and funding grassroot ...

Atlantic Philanthropies The Atlantic Philanthropies (AP) was a private foundation created in 1982 by American businessman Chuck Feeney. The Atlantic Philanthropies focused its giving on health, social, and politically left-leaning public policy causes in Australia, Berm ...

and the Department of Children and Youth Affairs. Family law proceedings in the

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 Counties of Ireland, counties of the island of Ireland, with a population of about 5.4 million. ...

take place ''

in camera ''In camera'' (; Latin: "in a chamber"). is a legal term that means ''in private''. The same meaning is sometimes expressed in the English equivalent: ''in chambers''. Generally, ''in-camera'' describes court cases, parts of it, or process wh ...

'', the project follows such cases in the Family Courts. Board members include

Dublin Rape Crisis Centre A rape crisis centre, also known as a sexual assault crisis centre or sexual assault referral centre (SARC), is a specialised centre to support victims of rape or other sexual assault, both in the immediate aftermath of the assault and in the ...

's Noeline Blackwell (chair), and former Chief Justice Frank Clarke, Carol Coulter, an ''

Irish Times ''The Irish Times'' is an Irish daily broadsheet newspaper and online digital publication. It was launched on 29 March 1859. The editor is Ruadhán Mac Cormaic. It is published every day except Sundays. ''The Irish Times'' is Ireland's leading n ...

'' journalist and

adjunct professor An adjunct professor is a type of academic appointment in higher education who does not work at the establishment full-time. The terms of this appointment and the job security of the tenure vary in different parts of the world, but the term is gen ...

of law at

University of Galway The University of Galway () is a public research university located in the city of Galway, Ireland. The university was founded in 1845 as "Queen's College, Galway". It was known as "University College, Galway" (UCG) () from 1908 to 1997 and as ...

, founded the project and is its executive director. Reports from the project have been cited in academic journals such as the ''

Journal of Social Work Education The ''Journal of Social Work Education'' is a quarterly peer-reviewed academic journal dedicated to education in the fields of social work and social welfare. It was established in 1965 as the ''Journal of Education for Social Work'', obtaining its ...

'' (

Taylor & Francis Taylor & Francis Group is an international company originating in the United Kingdom that publishes books and academic journals. Its parts include Taylor & Francis, CRC Press, Routledge, F1000 (publisher), F1000 Research and Dovepress. It i ...

), ''Social Work & Social Sciences Review'' (Whiting & Birch), ''Irish Journal of Applied Social Studies'' (

TU Dublin Technological University Dublin () or TU Dublin is Ireland's first technological university. It was established on 1 January 2019, with a history going back to 1887 through the amalgamated Dublin Institute of Technology which progressed from t ...

), ''Child Abuse Review'' (

Wiley Wiley may refer to: Locations *Wiley, Colorado, a U.S. town *Wiley, Georgia, an U.S. unincorporated community * Wiley, Pleasants County, West Virginia, U.S. * Wiley-Kaserne, a district of the city of Neu-Ulm, Germany People *Wiley (musician), ...

), ''Journal of Social Welfare & Family Law'' (Taylor & Francis), ''Child & Family Social Work'' (Wiley) and ''Family Court Review'' (Wiley). In November 2024, Special Rapporteur-for Children,

Caoilfhionn Gallagher Caoilfhionn Gallagher KC is an Irish-born barrister at Doughty Street Chambers in London, specialising in human rights and civil liberties. Life Gallagher studied at University College Dublin and graduated in 1999 with a Bachelor's degree in Civ ...

, said that a report from the project "shines a light" on the care system in need of reform. The body failed to secure a tender in 2024. In October 2024,

District Court District courts are a category of courts which exists in several nations, some call them "small case court" usually as the lowest level of the hierarchy. These courts generally work under a higher court which exercises control over the lower co ...

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

Paul Kelly expressed concern at the closure of the project, which had not sent reporters to proceedings since the middle of the year. Opposition politicians, Paul Murphy, Labour Party leader

Ivana Bacik Ivana Catherine Bacik () (born 25 May 1968) is an Irish politician who has been the Leader of the Labour Party (Ireland), Leader of the Labour Party (Ireland), Labour Party since 24 March 2022 and a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Dublin Bay South ...

, and

Aontú Aontú (; "Unity") is a conservative Irish republican political party active in both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. It has been led by Peadar Tóibín since its foundation in January 2019. The party holds socially conservative ...

leader

Peadar Tóibín Peadar Tóibín (; born 19 June 1974) is an Irish politician who has served as leader of Aontú since January 2019. He has been a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Meath West constituency since 2011. He previously served as Chair of the Committee on ...

called for funding to be reinstated from the

Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth The Department of Children, Disability and Equality () is a Department of State (Ireland), department of the Government of Ireland. It is led by the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality. Departmental team The official headquarters and ...

References

External links

* {{authority control, additional=Q131288385,Q5485855 Department of Children, Disability and Equality Research projects Law reform in the Republic of Ireland Child welfare in Ireland