Review of the Child Care Act 1991

In July 2021, the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth (DCEDIY) presented policy proposals to Government and received approval for the drafting of a General Scheme for an Amendment Bill to the Child Care Act, 1991, arising from a project to review and update the existing Act.

In April 2023, the Department received Government approval for the drafting of a Bill to amend the Child Care Act to better reflect changes in child welfare and protection services in Ireland in the 30 years since its enactment, as well as to capture current legislative, policy and practice developments.

Approval was also given to revise and update Part VIIA of the Act, which covers the regulation of early learning and childcare services. The General Scheme of the Bill can be found here: Heads and General Scheme of the Child Care (Amendment) Bill 2023.

Pre-legislative scrutiny was undertaken on 9 and 16 May 2023 with the report published by the Joint Committee on Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth in June 2023.

On 23 April 2024, Government agreed to separate the Bill into two Bills. The Child Care (Amendment) Bill 2024 was enacted on 8 July 2024. It amends Part VIIA of the 1991 Act to ensure:

• Tusla Early Years Inspectorate has the appropriate enforcement powers to address serious non-compliance with the Regulations, and;
• parents have access to information in relation to the quality of early learning and childcare services.

On 3 December 2025, the Government approved the publication of the Child Care (Amendment) Bill 2025. The Bill will revise and update the Child Care Act 1991. This governs a range of issues, including taking children into care through voluntary agreements and court orders.

The Bill will provide for greater cooperation and coordination across agencies and Departments, promoting a more agile response across the State in keeping children safe from harm.

Key features of the Child Care (Amendment) Bill 2025 include:

• the introduction of a duty to cooperate between relevant bodies, such as Tusla, government Departments and others. This will require organisations to cooperate proactively in performing their existing functions relevant to the development, welfare, and protection of a child.
• Under the new duty to cooperate, a clear basis for the sharing of information between agencies and organisations when they are working together on child protection and child welfare matters.
• Foster carers can apply for enhanced parental rights after three years rather than five years. This will help to create stable long-term arrangements for children in their care.
• The introduction of regular reviews of care orders for children, and changes to the duration of some care orders.
• The establishment of a Child Care Implementation and Inter-Agency Committee to bring together government Departments and State agencies who deliver services to families and children known to Tusla.

The Bill will also introduce guiding principles designed to strengthen the focus on the best interests of the child. It will better align Ireland’s legislation with the requirements of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and give further effect to Article 42A of the Constitution on the rights of the child.

The 1991 Act is a wide-ranging piece of legislation which, at its core, seeks to promote the welfare of children who may not receive adequate care and protection.

The legislation covers the following main areas:

• promotion of welfare of children, including the relevant functions of Tusla, the Child and Family Agency
• protection of children in emergencies, including section 12 which governs the powers of An Garda Síochána to take a child to safety
• care proceedings, including the different types of care orders which can be made by a court
• children in need of special care or protection
• private foster care
• jurisdiction and procedure, including provisions for the appointment of a guardian ad litem for a child
• children in the care of the Child and Family Agency
• supervision of preschool services, and
• children’s residential centres

Read the legislation.

In Better Outcomes Brighter Futures – The National Policy Framework for Children and Young People 2014-2020 the Government committed to ‘review and reform as necessary, the Child Care Act 1991.’

The purpose of the review is to:

• Identify what is working well within the legislation including its impact on policy and practice
• Address any identified gaps, operational improvements and new areas for development
• Capture current legislative, policy and practice developments
• Building on those steps, revise the original legislation

Please note that the reform of current Guardian ad Litem arrangements (under section 26 of the 1991 Act) is being progressed separately to this review. See further details on the reform of Guardian ad litem arrangements in child care proceedings.

The Department has consulted extensively with stakeholders to collect their views on the legislation including through a call for written submissions and a number of consultation events. This included extensive engagement with Tusla on subjects covered by the 1991 Act.

In September 2017, the Department held an Open Policy Debate where the implementation of the current Act was discussed with reference to three key themes: supporting families and children, listening to the voice of children and inter-agency work. The report of the day, as prepared by an independent rapporteur, is available here.

In 2018 the Department received a large number of submissions as part of a written consultation process. In their submissions stakeholders were invited to comment and make recommendations on the main parts of the Act, as well as on any new parts that they wished to propose. Responses to this consultation are available here.

In 2018, the Department also sought the views of Tusla staff and management on what aspects of the legislation are working well and what needs improvement. Following consultation with Tusla frontline staff on initial proposals, and a seminar on reforming child care proceedings with a selected group of stakeholders, there was a focused stakeholder workshop on foster care, followed by regional events on the same topic.

In 2020, the Department consulted the views of children and young people who have experienced interventions under the 1991 Act.

In 2020, the Department also held an online consultation inviting comments on a number of initial proposals to amend the legislation. View the responses received.

As part of the Review process the Department has also been represented on the informal working group convened by the Department of Justice on the development of Family Court reform and has provided input on the draft Heads of Bill. The Review itself and our feedback on Family Court reform has also been informed by research the Department commissioned on reforming child care proceedings that was completed in June 2019.

This section contains links to useful reference documents on the review of the Child Care Act 1991:

• Child Care Act 1991 (Consolidated version – Law Reform Commission)
• Explanatory memo – Child Care Bill 1988
• Oireachtas Library and Research Service digest on the Child Care (Amendment) Bill 2025