Child and Family Agency and GM & Anor (Care Order)

• Judge: Daly J.
• Judgment Date: 12 November 2014
• Neutral Citation: [2014] IEDC 19
• Case Outcome: Approved
• Court: District Court (Ireland)
• Date: 12 November 2014

[2014] IEDC 19

AN CHUIRT DUICHE THE DISTRICT COURT

Child and Family Agency

Applicant

-and-

GM

First named Respondent

AND

PC

FIRST NAMED RESPONDENT

CHILD CARE ACT, 1991- SECTION 18(1)

IN THE MATTER OF child A, child B & child C, Children

12 November 2014

1. This application pursuant t o s.18 of the Child Care Act 1991 (hereinafter referred to as ‘the 1991 Ac t’) by t he applicant, t he Child

and Family Agency, for c are orders in respect of the c hildren was heard over 4 days and c are orders for eac h of the children until

they eac h reach their age of majority were granted by me on the 3 Oc tober 2014. I will now proceed t o set out the reasoning for my

decision to grant care orders for eac h child together with my directions as t o their ca re and to regulate ac cess betwe en them and

their parents.

2. The respondent parents were in at tendance at t he hearing and choose not to e ngage legal representation. They opposed the

application but did not c all any evidence to c ontradict the e vidence of the applicant Child and Family Agency.

3. The applicant called Garda MW to give evidence of the c ircumstances under which s. 12 of the 1991 Ac t was invoked and which

resulted in the c hildren’s recept ion into care. Se rgeant TT gave evidence of his follow up visit to t he family home and his conc erns for

the mother’s bizarre presentation and condition of t he family home. The out of hours soc ial worker and the duty s ocial workers gave

evidence of the c hildren’s presentat ion on their recept ion into care, t he difficulty they experienced in engaging the mother and the

initial concerns they formed regarding the c hildren’s welfare while in their mothers care. I have a lso heard the evidence of t he senior

education and w elfare officers w ho gave evidenc e of t heir conclusion that the mother was not providing adequate home schooling for

the c hildren. I have heard the evidence o f the c linical psychologist w ho gave evidence of eac h of the children’s skewed development,

socialisation and educat ional attainments which she attributed as most likely resulting from the neglect they experienced in their

parents ca re. She desc ribed each c hild’s individual pattern of needs and s uggested supports nec essary for each c hild to address

these significant deficits. I have also heard of f urther specific assessments for Child C which ruled out Autism Spect rum Disorder but

which did note t he child’s significant difficulties with language and in performing activities o f daily living most likely due to his/her

experience of c are in an atypica l and difficult living environment at home. I have also heard f rom the so cial workers allocated t o this

case of their c oncerns of t he significant neglec t t he children have suffered in t erms of their health, educat ion and social development

and the diffic ulty social workers have had in engaging the parent s in any discussion about the c hildren’s difficulties and experiences

while in their parents care. I have also heard medical evidence which indicat es the children’s medical care has been neglect ed.

4. I have dete rmined, and the respondent father has agreed, the mother not being present in c ourt at the time of my enquiry

pursuant to s.23 of the Children Act 1997, that it is not in the w elfare interests of the c hildren to be c alled to give evidence either

directly or by way of video link or via intermediary and that the sc hedule of st atements made by the c hildren were to be admissible as

evidence in this applicat ion. Having heard the witnesses to whom these s tatements we re made I am satisfied it is in the interests of

justice t o admit the sta tements and that to s o do does not const itute an unwarranted unfairness to the respondent parents.

Therefore I have admitted t he stat ements and att ach them with the full weight of evidence.

5. I have heard the evidence of the c ourt appointed Guardian ad Litem who has expressed to t he court each o f the c hildren’s wish to

remain in the Applicant’s c are, not to have contac t with their mother and their wish to c ontinue to a cc ess with t heir father which has

recently resumed. She has expressed her c oncern regarding each of t he c hildren’s high level of need and the parents’ lack of insight

or apparent ability to meet t hese needs. She has also expressed her co ncern regarding the conc lusion reached by the National

Education & Welfare Board in 2009 that the children were receiving a minimum level of educat ion at home and the inac tion of

agencies, including the Health Servic e Executive, the National Educat ion & Welfare Board and the gardaí, to protec t the children until

they t ook matters into their own hands and ef fect ed their ‘escape’ from the family home in October 2013. I have granted t he guardian

leave to ref er these c oncerns to the Ombudsman for Children for further investigation. The guardian supports the Child and Family

Agencies applicat ion.

FINDINGS

6. In the absenc e of any evidence t o the contrary I am satisfied to make the following findings:

(i) the c hildren effectively organised themselves to esca pe from the family home and the c are of t heir mother and

themselves sought alternative c are and protection;

(ii) that while in the c are of t heir mother the children suffered significant degrees of educat ional neglect;

(iii) that while in the c are of their mother the c hildren have suffered neglect of their health;

(iv) that while in the care of their mother the children have suffered s ignificant neglect of their soc ial development;

(v) that the c hildren have suffered physical abuse while in their mother’s care;

(vi) that there is reasonable ca use to believe t hat the children’s experience of neglect and abuse found at (ii) to (v)

above is as a result of t heir mother’s unaddressed and untreated mental health problems and alcohol abuse;