An informal seminar on critical, topical issues in Child and Family Law and Policy in Ireland and the USA will be held on Saturday, 12 February, at the Dublin Institute of Technology on Aungier Street. This seminar is presented by the Department of Law, Dublin Institute of Technology, in association with Fulbright Ireland. It will hold particular interest for practitioners, academics, public sector worker, students and non-governmental organisations operating in the area of child and family law. The seminar will be moderated by Dr. Carol Coulter, Legal Affairs Editor of the Irish Times.
When: Saturday, 12 February, 2011, 10:00 - 14:30
Where: DIT, Aungier Street
RSVP: By Wednesday, 9 February to law@dit.ie or (01) 402-7181
Tentative panellists include:
- Professor Linda Elrod, Editor of the U.S. Journal, Family Law Quarterly, and Fulbright Scholar, DIT
- Professor Kris Miccio, University of Denver, Sturm College of Law, and Fulbright Scholar, UCD
- Geoffrey Shannon, Solicitor and State Rapporteur on Child Protection
- Paul Ward, BCL, LLM, Senior Lecturer, UCD School of Law
- Dr. Fergus Ryan, Dublin Institute of Technology
Topics to be discussed include:
- Relocation and Child Abduction
- Mandatory Arrest Orders and Domestic Violence
- The Welfare and Rights of the Child in Ireland - the Case for Reform
- The Crisis of Children in Care
- Children Being Raised by Same-Sex Couples
The seminar is open to the public and free-of-charge.
Please click here to view the seminar poster.
Highlighting the importance of taking children's views into account, MarriagEquality have launched a Conference Report entitled "Voices of Children". This report publishes the Conference Proceedings of an event held by the organisation in September 2010 which provided a space to hear the experiences of children in LGBT families in Ireland, highlighting the failure of the State to hear their voices and provide for the rights of children. It also outlines key recommendations as to how society can address the lack of legal rights and discrimination which these young people experience in their daily lives. Currently children and young people in Ireland, being raised by same sex parents, have no legal relationship with one of their parent, which leaves them in legal limbo and exposes them to many unnecessary worries, particularly in relation to emergency health care and school situations.
The report also contains contributions from experts in the areas of Equality and Child Law including solicitor and Child Law Expert, Geoffrey Shannon and Fergus Finlay, CEO of Barnardos.
To view the report in full, please click here.