5 days ago
Children denied basic rights of care and education being let down by legal system, report finds
Children most at risk of being failed in terms of their care, education, housing, disability and mental services are being denied their rights and do not have the means to challenge it, a new report has said.
Published by charity Community Law and Mediation, it found a string of issues are compounding this lack of access for children, such as gaps in professional knowledge among lawyers in how to support those whose rights are violated, and inadequate legal support for organisations working directly with children.
'Children encounter the legal system in different ways than adults do, and our approach must reflect that,' its chief executive Aoife Kelly-Desmond said.
It commissioned the report, compiled by children's law expert Róisín Webb, to determine the need for a specialised legal service for children and the role it could play.
The report said while many children's organisations campaign for reform on a range of issues, there is currently no organisation in Ireland which focuses exclusively on the reform of the law and legal systems from a children's rights perspective.
One such group previously existed, but was wound down a decade ago, and the report said learnings could be gained from that experience.
In the areas where children are currently being let down, it highlighted evidence showing a 'recurring theme' of a 'disconnect between administrative decisionmakers and those affected by those decisions'.
'The Ombudsman for Children [has expressed] concerns about provision for unaccompanied asylum-seeking children, the use of commercial hotels for children in direct provision, the need for timely vulnerability assessments for children seeking international protection, as well as the lack of robust systems to identify and support teenagers at risk of criminal and sexual exploitation,' the report said.
'Recent reports have also highlighted the fact that the focus on children and young people came too late during the covid pandemic, impacting their mental wellbeing, with the impact exacerbated for those already in vulnerable and disadvantaged situations.'
It also highlighted failings identified for children in care, children in the justice system, children with disabilities, children in poverty, LGBTQ+ children, homeless children, Traveller and Roma children and children seeking refuge in Ireland.
The report recommends the creation of a specialist children's legal service in Ireland, which should have a particular focus on outreach.
It said this had the potential to enhance access to justice for children and young people, particularly for those impacted by disadvantage and inequality or lacking family supports.
Another recommendation is around a specialist children's legal service being situated within an existing independent law centre, such as Community Law and Mediation, to avoid the previous difficulties, which led to the previous service winding down.
Ms Kelly-Desmond said: 'Informed by the findings of the report, [we aim] to scale up its existing children's law services to become a centre for excellence in relation to child friendly justice and legal advocacy for children, with a particular focus on children impacted by disadvantage and inequality.'
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