A judicial review challenges a new state service representing vulnerable children in Ireland’s courts, calling it “repugnant to Bunreacht na hÉireann, void and of no effect”.
The State’s policy is to reduce reliance on the private sector to look after children in care, but payments to contractors keep increasing, with more companies raising debt or private-equity investment.
Three quarters of the children placed in residential care in Ireland live in commercial accommodation. Investors have entered this growing industry, where inspections of the largest owners’ children’s homes show a mixed record.
Helping Hands Adoption Mediation Agency is reliant on financial support from the Adoption Authority to continue as a going concern. The authority has now flagged “lack of certainty” of future funding as a major risk.
Bluechip practice Mason Hayes & Curran initiated High Court proceedings after Cork firm Comyn Kelleher Tobin came out on top for a valuable legal contract with the Child and Family Agency, valued at around €2.1 million. Matters are escalating.
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