Changes urged over how gardaí use powers

A report into the wrongful removal of two Roma children from their homes by gardaí amid false fears they had been abducted recommends changes to the way Garda powers are used.

The recommendations focus on Section 12 of the Child Care Act, which specifically relates to gardaí and their powers to intervene where they believe a child is at immediate and serious risk and there is no time to get a warrant or to await a HSE application to the courts for an emergency care order.

Section 12 allows gardaí in those circumstances to enter a private house or any other building without warrant, by force if necessary, and remove the child to a place of safety before arranging for the child’s transfer to the HSE.