Ireland lead the way in child protection

Justice Minister Michael McDowell has told a seminar in Dublin that Ireland is the only EU member state which has legislation in place aimed at ratifying the Hague Convention on the Protection of Children.

Mr McDowell said the Protection of Children Act 2000 allows the State to ratify the 1996 convention.

He also admitted that Ireland has limited experience in the area of child abduction and said 72 such cases were recorded in the State last year, a figure consistent with the previous five years.