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Court decides child in foster care can go to Church of Ireland school against wishes of Catholic parents

The child’s parents did not consent to her attendance at the school.

A JUDGE IN the District Court has ruled that a child who is in foster care may attend a Church of Ireland school despite the Catholic parents of the child not consenting to her attendance at the school.

The Child and Family Agency (CFA) had sought a section 47 application in relation to the child which sought to make a direction that she could attend the school.

The case is one of 47 that is in included in the latest volume of the Child Care Law Reporting Project (CCLRP).

The foster parents’ own children attended this school and a CFA social worker told the court that if the child attended a different school she would not feel as integrated into the foster family. 

A solicitor for the child’s father asked the social worker whether the issue of religion should have been addressed earlier, to which the social worker replied that “the subject hasn’t come up until now”.

The guardian of the child told the court the child’s mother had no issue regarding religion when she discussed the matter.

The guardian also said that she had spoken to the child’s psychologist and he had been clear that her attending the local Church of Ireland school was necessary for her integration into the foster family unit.

The school also confirmed it would facilitate the child’s Catholic religious instruction with a local Catholic school for her first Holy Communion. 

As a result, the judge granted the order saying there was a commitment given for the child to attend Mass and to offer Catholic religious education.

“The problem is the question of religion. It has bedevilled this country for many a long year,” the judge stated. 

Video-link

In another case, a girl did not wish to be in secure care, though her guardian supported the application as in her best interests.

She sought and obtained the right to be a party to the proceedings herself, her own solicitor and counsel were appointed for her and she viewed the proceedings via video-link from her special care unit.

She appealed the secure care order to the Court of Appeal, but the Court of Appeal upheld the secure care order as in her best interests.

The full volume of the latest report of the Child Care Law Reporting Project is available on its website.

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    Mute Adele Sheehan
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    Dec 25th 2017, 10:21 AM

    Oh God, hope they’re okay

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    Mute Leitrim303
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    Dec 25th 2017, 6:50 PM

    @Adele Sheehan: how can be ok when they are bodies. RIP

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    Mute John O'Shea
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    Dec 25th 2017, 7:04 PM

    @Leitrim303: the comment was made 9 hours ago you simpleton.

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    Mute Dlow Brown
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    Dec 25th 2017, 7:17 PM

    @Leitrim303: well done Leitrim.

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    Mute The Red Devil
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    Dec 25th 2017, 11:21 AM

    Christmas is not always a happy time for people please spare a thought for those…….and for the emergency services who are away from their families dealing with whatever comes at them
    Hopefully not as bad as it sounds this story

    295
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    Mute Penney Mortimer
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    Dec 25th 2017, 2:17 PM

    The rainfall yesterday in this area was horrendous . Roads and bridges treacherous when rainfall high. My thoughts are with the families today . And I don’t think anyone should be passing comment on whether there was drinking or not . It’s really none of our business and we need to take into account that at some stage family and friends may read this post and we need to respect their feelings .

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    Mute Mark Murphy
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    Dec 25th 2017, 12:11 PM

    God love them. There is no right or wrong here. Prayers for the family especially on today’s date

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    Mute OU812
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    Dec 25th 2017, 1:30 PM

    @Mark Murphy: there absolutely is right and wrong.

    But let’s wait for the facts to emerge rather than assume what happened.

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    Mute Mark Murphy
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    Dec 25th 2017, 6:13 PM

    @OU812: what a stupid comment

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    Mute Veronica
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    Dec 25th 2017, 3:09 PM

    Oh god absolutely awful. Devastating news for their families.

    I really appreciate our rescue services, they truly are selfless.

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    Mute Dean Burroughs
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    Dec 25th 2017, 11:40 PM

    @Veronica: selfless… It’s their job. Id say professional certainly not selfless.

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    Mute Ben Dunne
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    Dec 26th 2017, 11:19 AM

    @Dean Burroughs:
    Bit more than being professional,most of us don’t risk getting killed helping others. I used to take them for granted until Rescue 116 crashed, used to watch it fly over my house several times a day without a second thought and now I can’t help having tremendous respect for people in that field.

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    Mute Tosh Lavery
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    Dec 25th 2017, 5:01 PM

    Sad, may they Rest In Peace, and the Family’s find the strength to deal with this tragedy

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    Mute Arthur Pewty
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    Dec 25th 2017, 5:29 PM

    Rest in peace young men. My sympathies to all families involved. x

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    Mute Finnster
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    Dec 25th 2017, 2:59 PM

    This is terrible news for these poor families. So tragic , it can happen so easy

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    Mute vero
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    Dec 25th 2017, 12:41 PM

    Please god they will be ok, horrible news at any time of year but worse for the day thats in it

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    Mute patrickmansfield
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    Dec 25th 2017, 6:15 PM

    Prayers to the family and friends of both men,very sad news to get on Christmas morning

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    Mute helen walsh
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    Dec 25th 2017, 1:33 PM

    There was a lot of fog and bad weather, hope they are found alive. Young men are invincible, hope they hadn’t been drinking. Terrible for the families.

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    Mute Alan Chapman
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    Dec 25th 2017, 2:19 PM

    @helen walsh: I think you meant , young men think they’re invincible. Terrible tragedy at any time of year but especially the day that’s in it . Our thoughts also with all the search and rescue services involved in this.

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    Mute Mark Jasper
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    Dec 25th 2017, 9:32 PM

    Well done to my fellow colleagues in search and rescue for a quick and unfortunate recovery today.

    R.I.P. to the two men

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    Mute Siobhan Rosemary
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    Dec 25th 2017, 7:46 PM

    Shocking

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    Mute Michael O'Neill
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    Dec 25th 2017, 11:54 PM

    RIP very sad.

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