Ireland

The goal of the Children’s Rights Alliance is to secure the changes in legislation policies and services required to ensure the implementation in Ireland of the principles and provisions of the Convention on the Rights of the Child. In accordance with this goal, the Alliance has been pursuing key objectives since its establishment in 1995; these are realising and defending children’s rights, monitoring and identifying the gaps in the protection of children’s rights and improving the implementation of law and Government policies.

Helen Lynch is Director of the Occupational Therapy Graduate Studies programme and a member of the steering committee of ISS21 Childrern and Young Peoples group. In 2004 she joined the department of Occupational Therapy in UCC as full-time lecturer and Director of Brookfield Occupational Therapy Clinic. She designed and coordinated the second year Occupational Therapy programme, focusing on Occupational Therapy applied to early childhood and teenagers for eight years. She is now Year Four coordinator and leads the teaching on research in the programme. She supervises undergraduate research projects related to children and family-centred practice and delivers masters modules in professional reasoning.

Hugh Frazer is an independent expert who advises national European and international organisations (e.g. European Commission and UNICEF) and NGOs (e.g. Eurochild, European Anti Poverty Network, ESN) on the development of social inclusion policies and strategies with a particular focus on issues of child poverty.

Robbie Gilligan is a Professor of Social Work and Social Policy at the Trinity College of Dublin, Ireland. Robbie has been a social work educator and social researcher for 40 years. He is still a registered social worker, and an active researcher (having recently retired from my formal duties as Professor). The main focus of his research relates to children and young people in alternative care and adult care leavers. On a more limited basis, his work has also engaged with migrant children and with children with disabilities. In his research, Robbie emphasises approaches that foreground the child’s experience and needs, and policy relevance. The ecological perspective on the child’s reality is also prioritised, respecting the role of family, school and other social systems close to the child’s daily reality. In all of his work, Robbie endeavours to promote the rights of the child through deepening understanding of their needs, experiences and rights. Robbie is a National Correspondent in Eurochild’s DataCare project for Ireland.

Established in 2012, the Child Law Project examines and reports on judicial childcare proceedings. The organisation attends and reports on Irish District Court childcare hearings, High Court special care hearings, and wardship cases involving children and young adults who have previously been in care. It operates under a protocol to protect the anonymity of the children and their families subject to proceedings. It uses information from the cases it attends to identify emerging trends. The Child Law Project also conducts legal and policy analysis and research to identify possible reforms to address the difficulties observed through its court reporting work. It provides information to the public on the operation of the childcare system in the courts with the aim of promoting transparency and accountability. Finally, it communicates the findings from its work to policy makers and elected officials through direct engagement.

The UNESCO Child and Family Research Centre (UCFRC) in University of Galway, has established a solid foundation as the foremost policy research centre in Ireland focused on improving the lives of children and families. Founded in 2007, it has delivered a range of research/evaluation reports, as well as a volume of peerreviewed academic outputs. It has a strong record of accomplishment in the area of rights-based consultations with children and young people and youth-led research.

Dr. Rita Melia, Ireland, is a lecturer on the BA Early Childhood Education and Care programme at Atlantic Technological University. She has worked in the early childhood education and care sector for over thirty years in practice, research and policy. Her main emphasis is on the right of all children to have quality early years experiences where they have a voice and choice