Scores of vulnerable children in care, or being taken into care, who need advocates in court remain without them as a new service struggles to meet demand.
The guardian ad litem (GAL) national service, which began operating in June from within the Department of Children, said 50 children whom judges have said need advocates do not yet have one.
The department said this was because the number of GALs requested by judges “has been well ahead of the projected level of demand”.
GALs are appointed to be the voice of vulnerable children at the centre of complex care-law cases. Of the 65 the department said it planned to recruit for the new service, just 13 have been appointed.
Before last June, when the Childcare (Amendment) Act 2022 commenced, the GAL system was unregulated. Practitioners worked independently and were appointed by judges where it was in the child’s best interests to have a voice in proceedings.
A named GAL would be appointed on the day and would in many cases meet the child within 24 hours.
Under the new service, GALs are employed by the department and appointed, following a recommendation by the judge, at the discretion of the Minister for Children.
It is also at the Minister’s discretion whether a GAL will have legal representation in court, where previously this was automatic.
The previous system was seen as unwieldy and costly and was criticised for providing no clarity about how many children GALs had in their workload, or how many children had GALs.
While independent GALs generally agreed the system needed regulation, a majority of the 96 working before June voiced concern that practitioners would lose their independence and that not all children who needed advocates would get one.
A total of 89 of these are still working independently on a transitional basis as they complete their advocacy for 3,500 children.
Figures provided by the department to The Irish Times show 13 GALs “have been employed by the GAL national service”. A further three will begin this month, with nine more to follow in October.
“An additional 29 are at various stages of contracting and clearance,” said a department spokesman, meaning 54 will be employed by the end of the year.
“Over 300 children have been appointed to the 13 authorised GALs following receipt of court orders from all parts of the country.
“The … service is currently processing 50 court orders for appointment.”
The emergence of a “waiting list” of vulnerable children for advocacy was “worrying”, said retired judge Dermot Simms, chairman of the Association of Guardians ad Litem Ireland.
The association initiated a High Court challenge in June to the new national service. Simms described the services as a “step backward” for children’s rights.
He said he was “not surprised” children who needed GALs were unable to access them “in a timely manner” under the new service.
“I think this was bound to happen the way it is constructed … It is worrying, especially if children in emergency situations are left waiting,” he added.
The department spokesman said: “The number of court orders received by the national service has been well ahead of the projected level of demand before commencement.
“This is largely due to the lack of data or historical records of the demand on guardians ad litem prior to commencement of the national service, and to an increase of orders for guardians ad litem.”