Daniel McConnell: Families of child murder victims deserve to keep their voice 

Amendments to the Children's Act to lift the gagging order on the  naming of child murder victims should not just be seen as a victory for the media – it gives those most directly affected their voices back

Justice Minister Helen McEntee said amendments to the Children’s Act that would allow the child victims of murder and manslaughter to be named could be completed in a matter of weeks. Picture: Liam McBurney/PA Wire

A controversial ruling by the Court of Appeal last October that child murder victims cannot be named publicly was met with immediate frustration and anger.

The impact of that decision was that the media could not name a deceased child victim of crime, because of a provision of the 2001 Children Act.