Irish Examiner view: Good luck rapporteur

international barrister Caoilfhionn Gallagher KC.

Before Christmas we wondered whether anyone would step forward to fill the void in child protection policies following the decision by special rapporteur Dr Conor O’Mahony to stand down after producing a damning critique of his relationships with government.

That baton has been picked up by Caoilfhionn Gallagher KC, an international barrister who hails from Dublin, who has acted in leading children’s rights cases before the United Nations, the European Court of Human Rights and in the UK and other jurisdictions. Ms Gallagher has been appointed for a three-year term and says that this is a critical time for rights and child protection in Ireland with many “pressing and urgent challenges.”