Power to remove children from home must be a last resort, warns expert

GARDAÍ have the power to take a child out of a family home where there is “an immediate and serious risk”.

But one child law expert yesterday said the provision was only used as a “last resort” as it infringed on the special position given to the family in the constitution.

Section 12 of the Child Care Act 1991 states that a garda can remove a child if there were “reasonable grounds” for believing that: