Child protection failings: ‘No evidence that Section 12 is being used in over-zealous manner by gardaí’

The Shannon audit found no evidence that Section 12 is being used in an over-zealous manner by An Garda Síochána, and that the fall-out from the 2013 Athlone and Dublin Roma cases meant some gardaí were more anxious about using it.

Section 12 is the principal legal mechanism through which An Garda Síochána performs its child protection function, authorising a Garda to remove a child from the care of their family where they believe there is an immediate and serious risk to their health or welfare.

It is based on the judgement of the individual Garda and the report suggests that exercising Section 12 removal of children is a “rare occurrence” and that “an individual member may only invoke the Section 12 power a handful of times over his or her entire career”.