Irish Parents please take note,
You no longer have the duty of determining what is in your child's "Best Interests".
There are three main reasons for holding a Children's "Rights" Referendum;
- The Irish Government were instructed in 2006, that to be fully compliant with the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, that they would have to change article 42 of the Irish Constitution to comply with the parts of the UNCRC which are not "self-executing".
- To allow for "Forced Adoption", adoption against the will of the parents when the State decides.
- To remove the rights of parents to decide "Best Interests" to allow the State to decide in all cases.
To say that children are not currently protected is an obvious lie when you consider that about 26,200 children are currently "Protected" by either "Care" or Supervision Orders of the Courts. I have to use the word "about" as 500 or so have gone missing from "Care" and 95% of those have never been accounted for. I also have to use quotes around the word "Care" as it is a poor choice of word for a system that actually harms children more than it helps. The Children are systematically damaged by the entire process as we will discuss later.
To say that there is a higher threshold to removing children of Married Parents is another lie as none actually exists in Irish Law, Constitutional or Statutory, Supreme Court Justice Hardiman made this clear. There is however a perceived barrier but this exists because it is easier in some cases to remove a child from a single mother than it is to remove a child from a mother and father. The fathers who are not cohabitating with the single mothers are perceived to have no rights, in fact fathers are largely seen as superfluous to the process unless they demand Joint Custody. But even getting Joint Custody doesn't guarantee that you will have a right to see your children, even if you were married or divorced. Essentially Irish Family Courts deny 30% of all Irish Children the right to have a relationship with their father.
The Governments and the Vested Interests are clearly lying when you consider that the existing laws supposed to give certain rights such as an education are not being implemented, you only have to look at the cutbacks to children with Special Needs to see how their rights have been eroded over the years.Many cant attend school because there are no Special Needs Assistants to help them and no transportation to get them to the school or home. Many schools have closed so the distances are far too great so the kids stay home.
In a recent Supreme Court Decision it was decided that parents and children would be extradited to the UK from Ireland. The likely outcome is that the parents may lose their children to “Forced Adoption”. Nottingham Social Services have decided that these parents are not fit to raise their chidren. It's important to know that they have never been accused or convicted of a crime in relation to their children, these are not abusive parents and the children have not been abused or neglected. The couple and the children were investigated by Irish Authorities who had no issues. This is becoming a regular occurrence in Irish Courts.
The Adoption Act of 1988 supposedly allows for children to be removed from parents and placed for Adoption against the parents wishes, but the State have not been able to implement this because the Constitution allows Parents to decide what is in their child's best interests.
This decision may have important implications for Irish Parents. While previous judges have believed that the Adoption Acts of 1988 and 2010 were unconstitutional, this ruling could change everything. Previous decisions upheld the rights of parents under Article 42.
If you have a child between the ages of 6 weeks and 7 years, you should be very clear on how this will effect you. The State can take your child and place them up for Adoption without your consent. This will be done in a Secret Court, you don't have to even be accused of a crime, you will not be entitled to know what evidence will be brought against you, the Media and the Public cannot enter the court to see if Justice has been done, and you will be gagged and prevented from telling anyone about what happened to you. You will have no recourse in Law and the decision will be made based on the “Evidence” of ONE person.You will also most likely never see your child again.
And a lot of people Children's Groups will make a lot of money from the process. Irish People should be outraged, but the event escaped most peoples notice. Most people will not be concerned at all, until it happens to them or others they now. As it stands, your parental rights can be terminated and your child placed in Foster “Care” until 18 and you may even be forbidden to have a relationship with them, more importantly, children are denied the right to know their parents, siblings and extended family, is it really about a “Child's best interests”?. The children are then dumped on the streets at age 18. Visit the Boardwalk in Dublin and talk to them on any given day.
Some “Cheerleaders” of the Child “Protection” Industry have always said that the barriers to removing children were too high, especially the children of Married Parents. The Adoption Act's, even the latest one of 2010 have set different standards for removing children and placing them (against the parents wishes) for Adoption. Incidentally, the Adoption Act of 2010 along with the statements of Geoffrey Shannon and a University Lecturer who writes anonymously under the name of Conor O'M. are proof positive that “Forced Adoption” was always on the cards, regardless of the outcome of the Children's “Rights” Referendum.
It seems the dreams of some people who would rather not see children “languishing” in Foster “Care” and can now have the chance of a home life in an adopted “Family”. This “Family” may include single people, same sex couples and makes no provisions for the “Adoptive Family” to be married, even though the marital status of the Birth Mother is of supreme importance. It also makes no provision for when the Adoption “breaks-down”. It seems a Birth Mother cant send the child back but the “Adoptive Parents” can. One in FOUR Adoptions breaks-down, the statistics rise considerably higher the older the child gets. Many adopted children are abandoned when they turn 18. It also makes no provisions for Siblings, bad enough that a child suffer the loss of their parents but to further lose their siblings and extended family is unconsionable. But it's not really about the children, it's about what the Eugenicists in the Child “Protection” Industry want, Money.
For the last 2 decades, Ireland has seen a flood of hundreds of UK citizens fleeing to Ireland to avoid their children being stolen by UK Governments.When I say "stolen", I have to qualify that statement, stolen for money to be exact, a lot of money. You don't have to take my word for this, you can hear what British MP's Tim Yeo and John Hemming have said in the House of Parliament. Or you can look at Ian Josephs website. Ian has been working on this issue since the 1960's.
Parents such as Fran Lyon , Angela Wileman and hundreds others have fled to avoid their child being taken at birth and put up for adoption. Where the UK Authorities have said that parents were unfit, they have been investigated by Irish, Spanish, French, South African, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian and Belgian Authorities and allowed to keep their children. Where UK "Experts" said these parents were "unfit", the children have grown up in other countries, including Ireland and no issues were found to date. UK Social Services are now operating in Ireland and are active pursuing people who have fled, they don't like being proven wrong.
Google the case of Mark & Nicky Webster who fled to Ireland. they were falsely accused of harming one of their children, arrested and their children put up for adoption. When the Criminal case was heard in court, they were vindicated by the judge. The case was even seen as a miscarriage of Justice. When they asked for their children back, were told, NO, the children have settled with their Adoptive "Parents".
Essentially, Lord Justice Wall, the President of the UK Family Court, may have well have said "Madeyln McCann has been found but we have decided to leave her with her kidnappers as she has settled in nicely with them". His decision defied all logic and ethics.
The Tony Blair Labour Govt. (22 MP's were Social Workers) came into power, they decided to increase the number of adoptions of children in the "Care" of the State. They used the word "languishing" as did Justice Wall and Geoffrey Shannon. The objective was that children who were in long term "Care" could be adopted and the Government paid huge bonuses to Local Authorities (Councils) to hit "Adoption Targets". Hundreds of millions were paid and most Councils hit their targets, some exceeded them.
Unfortunately for parents, it was not the children "languishing" in long-term "Care" who were adopted. No prospective Adoptive "Parent" wants to adopt the Baby P's of this world. Older children are a nightmare for Adopters, they keep running home to their parents. Adoption is not the
panacea it's presented to be by some. 1 in 4 Adoptions “Break-Down” and the child is returned to Foster “Care”. Incidentially, the break-down rate for Foster “Care” is substantially higher. What happened is that the number of "white & healthy" babies being taken into "Care" increased dramatically, over 1,700 a year being removed. There was no reason to adopt "Special needs" or children of different races with the glut of "White Babies" on the market. Official Government statistics are widely available on the Internet.
By contrast, what happened in the USA was that the Federal Government paid higher bonuses for African American, Hispanic and Special Needs children to be adopted. Not surprisingly, the numbers of "White & Healthy" babies being adopted dropped significantly. To me this clearly shows that Money is the driving factor in Adoption. It's also considerably cheaper in the long-term to pay a bonus to get a child out of Foster "Care". In Ireland, Foster "Carers" are paid a salary of €339 tax free, per week, per child, plus expenses. Children in Privately owned Institutions can fetch €4,800 per child per week, for what one operator "says at best is a Babysitting Service". The cost savings to the Taxpayer may be very substantial over the up to 18 years a child is in “Care”, that in fact is the real reason behind the Children's “Right” Referendum, they have now admitted it.
You may wonder at this point why I choose to use quotation marks around the word "Care"?. In studies since 1947, it was known that removing a child from it's parents and placing them in "Care" causes considerable damage. In a 12 year study of 15,000 cases, Joseph Doyle at MIT did a scientific study of "Outcomes" for children of Foster Care. The Outcomes for children were dismal, a damning indictment against Governments who take children from their parents. Babies as young as 6 months have been found to be suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder as a result of being removed from their parents. They are twice as likely to suffer PTSD, somewhere in the order of four times more severe than troops returning from Iraq and Afghanistan.
The Irish Government, the HSE and all the "Experts" have known that "Care" is extremely damaging to children, Judges included. For them to say they didn't know, would make them look incompetent so they just decided to be dishonest instead by not mentioning it. They also lied to the Irish Public about the Children's "Rights" Referendum but now Geoffrey Shannon and others have come clean by saying that a Referendum may not even be necessary. “Conor O'M” alluded to this some time ago in his reply to John Waters.
I knew this 3 years ago when I started researching the Child "Protection" Industry in Ireland, the only growth industry left in Ireland. I've never been personally harmed by the system, in fact I have no children. When I saw what was happening in secret to Irish Families I was appalled and shocked by what I saw. I couldn't understand how people have been investigated and cleared by the Gardai and DPP would then be tried again for the same "Crime" in a Family Court under a lower Burden of Proof. Whether guilty or not (not guilty because they have already been investigated by Gardai), they would still be punished in a Family Court. They could lose their child forever and never have been convicted of any crime, how is this possible?.
The Referendum was never about Children, it was always about removing the rights of parents to determine what is in the "Best interests" of their own children. In the last few drafts, I couldn't find a single clearly defined "Right" for children, apparently neither could the Irish Public so the Governments missed 2 opportunities where it could have been put to the vote. People asked, "who decides when a parent has failed in their duty?"
I set up a website a few years ago NoTo42.Blogspot.com and informed Irish people about what the Government Eugenicists were up to. Irish people should not abrogate their duty and responsibility to vindicate the rights of their children. Am I opposed to giving children rights? absolutely not. I think every child in Ireland should have a right to an education, even the Special Needs Kids who have suffered many cutbacks in recent years. I believe a child should have the right to free Health Care, even the children you see in TV3 with their parents, begging for money from the Irish Public so that they can send their children, often to 3rd World Countries to have life-saving operations when the HSE has pronounced a Death Sentence on them.
The Family Courts incidentally are illegal in Ireland. Justice Minister Alan Shatter, once a vociferous critic of the Child "Protection" Industry and a former Family Law Solicitor, now wants the Irish Public to put Family Courts on a "Constitutional Basis" when a series of Referenda will be held in March 2012. Along with this unconstitutional proposal, the much ballyhooed Children's "Rights" Referendum will be held, but some believe it's not needed with this Supreme Court decision.
I say that Family Courts are Unconstitutional and illegal on the basis of several legal points. There is no legal justification for a person for a person to be tried TWICE for the same alleged "Crime". By comarison, Murderers, Rapists and Drug Barons have more rights in Criminal Courts than Families in Family Courts. Children apparently have no rights at all and are rarely heard in family court. Where parents are accused of Child Abuse or Neglect, when investigated by Professional investigators in the Gardai, sometimes the case is investigated and dropped, sometimes the DPP receive a case file and decide not to prosecute, sometimes people are prosecuted in a Criminal court and found not-guilty. In each of these cases, a separate prosecution will take place in a Family Court, and guilty or innocent, a Family will be "Punished without even have been accused of a crime". "Punishment Without Crime" is illegal and unjust, it is also unconstitutional under Irish Law which is why the Government want your permission to continue punishing people who have not committed a crime. You should vote no to every single proposal in these Referenda.
The secrecy in the Family Courts prevent Civil and Human Rights Groups from acting or even commenting on the injustices taking place. Under the definition of the UN Convention on Human Rights, the practices by the State in Family Courts meet the definition of "Torture". The most draconian punishment I can think of is to remove a child from it's parents and then punish the child and parents further. Statistically, Children in "Care" in Ireland are 6 TIMES more likely to die in Irish State "Care". A child died last week in the "Care" of the Irish State, another one is going to die next week and another 2 weeks after that. The numbers are only going to increase in the next few years because the population of children in "Care" in Ireland has DOUBLED in the last decade. What was the justification for the numbers of children being taken into "Care?", nobody has even asked the question. The numbers of cases of Criminal convictions of Child Abuse or Neglect haven't doubled, the Population of Ireland hasn't doubled, so what is the justification for this?
43% of the Irish Prison Population have been in "Care", the numbers increase dramatically when you look at the younger inmates. You would think that a child in "Care" would have a better outcome but the ones in Prison are actually the lucky ones, the rate of suicide, drugs and alcohol dependency, homelessness, unemployment and lack of Education are rife among "Care" recipients, less than 20% ever go on to live a “normal” life.
We all hear the stories of the loving Foster "Carers" who open up their hearts and their homes to children "at risk", we used to say “in Need” but at "Risk" of being in need has crept into our vocabulary lately. I've met some lovely people who are Foster "Carers". Many are very good people who do their best, but their best is not the issue, the "Outcomes" is the only important factor. We don't tend to hear the stories of how many of these "loving people" will toss the children on the streets at age 18 when they "Age-Out" of the system. In fairness, Minister Fitzgerald was well aware of this and appointed Social Workers to 99% of the"States Offspring". According to the children, now considered Adults at the age of 18, the best Social Workers can offer is a Pamphlet or making a phone call on their behalf. Not the expected outcome for children when the State has systematically uprooted them and alienated them from their families.
And we're told about the Poor Social Workers, the stress of it all. They are overburdened with high case loads. In a 3 year period from 2004 to 2007, when there was supposedly a "shortage" of social workers, the numbers of children being taken into "Care" TRIPLED. Let's examine this, at the time they said there were high caseloads and a shortage yet there were more than enough Social Workers to take children into "Care" but not enough to visit the ones in their "Care", something doesn't add up here. Could it be that "Shortage" was a manufactured crisis? intended to increase the size of the Child "Protection" Industry? The numbers of children in "Care" have DOUBLED in a decade.
Another interesting statistic is the fact that for every 184 cases where the State have a Supervision Order or a Protective order, only ONE person is charged with a Criminal Offense, how is this even possible? It's possible because of two things; Secrecy and the lowering of the Burden of Proof.
Human and Civil Rights groups cant even become involved for fear of being jailed in secret. The agencies responsible don't even have to account for their actions because they have been allowed to hide behind the secrecy that is supposedly intended to protect the children from their own parents. Minister Andrews was not entitled to know how many children had died as the HSE said he had no right in law to even know.
Despite all the reputed laws being broken by "Secret Agents" of the State, who incidentally are more powerful than the Gardai despite having no Statutory Powers to do so, a person has no right in Irish Law to even defend themselves. A person walked into a Garda Station and told a senior Garda Officer, I want to report a crime committed by Social Workers. The Garda advised "I've been here before with these cases. If you make a report to me of a crime, I will naturally have to talk to the Social Worker to get their side of the story. If I talk to them, they will say that YOU have broken the In-Camera Rule and I will have to arrest you. I recommend you don't make the report". In essence, it is not possible for people who have been through the Family Court System to get any form of Justice. Even the Courts wont support any parents or children who feel they have been wrongly treated. Judges don't even hand down a written verdict so there is no evidence to use at a later date. People are jailed in secret for Contempt of Family Court and the Media are not allowed to report on it.
And you might say, "what about actual cases of child abuse?" Look at the Roscommon House of Horrors, The Baby P case, Victoria Climbie and many more to see what a dismal record that Social Workers have at detecting child abuse or neglect. Or the fact that 60% of the time, when Family Cases get a full hearing, the Judge returns the children to their parents.
In the Baby P Case, what might have tipped me off in the 60 or so visits by “Professionals” was the nutcase living upstairs with the two Rottweilers and who had also been accused of raping a 2 year old. Baby P's Paediatrician Dr. AlZayat who was the last "Professional" to see the child alive, failed to diagnose that he has at least 3 life-threatening injuries. But don't worry, after she was struck off by the GMC, she took up a position in Ireland. You may want to run to your calendar at this point to look up the name of the Paediatrician has an appointment with soon. A lot of the Social Workers that were struck off in the UK or left their jobs under suspicious circumstances now work for the Irish State.
Minister Fitzgerald also made a dramatic announcement that the HSE would be removed from their role of Child Protection in Ireland. Sounds wonderful but how exactly is this supposed to work? will we not see the same children in the same Foster Homes looked after (?) by the same people, with the same corrupt Family Court System, the same corrupt Family Law Solicitors who reported lose cases against parents in the hope of getting more work from the State against Parents as Prosecutors for the HSE? I fail to see how this will result in any meaningful change for Children in "Care". They will have the same dismal outcomes, even the ones Adopted. Did she remove them or did they just quit?.
The State is only looking after every one's "Best Interests" which is a meaningless slogan that has been used for too long to beat parents with. Useless slogan because "Best Interests" are in no way measurable, Who determines Best Interests? How will we know when "Best Interests" have been achieved. Is anyone even going to measure the "Best Interests"?, I have and I have come to the conclusion that the State has no business meddling in Family Affairs, they have a dismal record and have resorted to lies and deceit. If you think what happened to the children in the State run Institutions (contracted out to the Church) was bad, wait till your hear what is happening to children in State "Care" today. As a prominent member of a Children's Charity told me "It's another Ryan Report waiting to happen". Personally I think it's far worse.
In taking children into "Care" they seem to forget one important factor, children grow up. There will be cases seen soon, Class-Action Lawsuits (know in Ireland as Group Action) are already forming. You should see what's happening in the USA. Although Parents were gagged, the law cannot apply to children who have been harmed by the State. Jack Straw in the UK recently brought in Legislation preventing Children in "Care" from speaking out, even if they feel they have been abused or mistreated but the law only applies to Children, it wont be applicable when they turn 18.
Governments have made an absolute mess of Child Protection, when laws failed they made even more draconian laws. By now hundreds of thousands of children have been affected by this and yet, the "Experts" keep coming up with failed theory after failed theory. Social Work and Psychology has failed society miserably. You would think that when the State steps in and tells a parent "you cant look after your child, we will do it for you" that the result would be that the States Offspring would be the future Rocket Scientists and Neuro Surgeons but no, statistically many will be the future prison population and those are the lucky ones. Their children will end up in "Care" because having been in "Care" make you a higher risk to your child.
And you might say, "what about actual cases of child abuse?" Look at the Roscommon House of Horrors, The Baby P case, Victoria Climbie and many more to see what a dismal record that Social Workers have at detecting child abuse or neglect. Or the fact that 60% of the time, when Family Cases get a full hearing, the Judge returns the children to their parents.
In the Baby P Case, what might have tipped me off in the 60 or so visits by “Professionals” was the nutcase living upstairs with the two Rottweilers and who had also been accused of raping a 2 year old. Baby P's Paediatrician Dr. AlZayat who was the last "Professional" to see the child alive, failed to diagnose that he has at least 3 life-threatening injuries. But don't worry, after she was struck off by the GMC, she took up a position in Ireland. You may want to run to your calendar at this point to look up the name of the Paediatrician has an appointment with soon. A lot of the Social Workers that were struck off in the UK or left their jobs under suspicious circumstances now work for the Irish State.
Minister Fitzgerald also made a dramatic announcement that the HSE would be removed from their role of Child Protection in Ireland. Sounds wonderful but how exactly is this supposed to work? will we not see the same children in the same Foster Homes looked after (?) by the same people, with the same corrupt Family Court System, the same corrupt Family Law Solicitors who reported lose cases against parents in the hope of getting more work from the State against Parents as Prosecutors for the HSE? I fail to see how this will result in any meaningful change for Children in "Care". They will have the same dismal outcomes, even the ones Adopted. Did she remove them or did they just quit?.
The State is only looking after every one's "Best Interests" which is a meaningless slogan that has been used for too long to beat parents with. Useless slogan because "Best Interests" are in no way measurable, Who determines Best Interests? How will we know when "Best Interests" have been achieved. Is anyone even going to measure the "Best Interests"?, I have and I have come to the conclusion that the State has no business meddling in Family Affairs, they have a dismal record and have resorted to lies and deceit. If you think what happened to the children in the State run Institutions (contracted out to the Church) was bad, wait till your hear what is happening to children in State "Care" today. As a prominent member of a Children's Charity told me "It's another Ryan Report waiting to happen". Personally I think it's far worse.
In taking children into "Care" they seem to forget one important factor, children grow up. There will be cases seen soon, Class-Action Lawsuits (know in Ireland as Group Action) are already forming. You should see what's happening in the USA. Although Parents were gagged, the law cannot apply to children who have been harmed by the State. Jack Straw in the UK recently brought in Legislation preventing Children in "Care" from speaking out, even if they feel they have been abused or mistreated but the law only applies to Children, it wont be applicable when they turn 18.
Governments have made an absolute mess of Child Protection, when laws failed they made even more draconian laws. By now hundreds of thousands of children have been affected by this and yet, the "Experts" keep coming up with failed theory after failed theory. Social Work and Psychology has failed society miserably. You would think that when the State steps in and tells a parent "you cant look after your child, we will do it for you" that the result would be that the States Offspring would be the future Rocket Scientists and Neuro Surgeons but no, statistically many will be the future prison population and those are the lucky ones. Their children will end up in "Care" because having been in "Care" make you a higher risk to your child.
We have allowed this dangerous ideology into our home, in fact we invited it into our homes and now we cant kick the Super Nanny State out. Despite all the evidence (as opposed to theory), the State is the worst possible parent. The evidence says that children have better outcomes even with supposedly "bad" parents. In Education alone, less than 3% of "Care" recipients ever go on to further education, even in the worst estates in Ireland, the numbers are from 9 to 23%. Is it any wonder that 3 out of 5 girls who “age-out” of the system are pregnant or already have a child? It's a better option than homlessness. Why are so many of the Irish Homeless former “Care” recipients? Less than 20% will live a normal life and most end up in a lifetime of poverty. There are very few success stories for former Foster “Care” recipients.
The answer is simple, Stop taking children into "Care". Scrap the Family Courts, there is no reason for them to exist. If Child Abuse or Neglect is a crime, then it should only be investigated by the ONLY Statutory Body with the legal right to investigate crime, the Gardai. There is no justification for Double Jeopardy, that a person can be tried in 2 separate courts and no justification for lowering the Burden of Proof to "Mere Suspicion", that something may (or equally may not) happen at some point in the future.
Social Workers should not have the powers to break up families, saying for example that a husband has to leave the home without anyone being charged with a crime. Punishment Without Crime is illegal and unjust. Imprisonment without benefit of a jury trial, without the scrutiny of the Media and the Public is an abuse of Human Rights. Let Social Worker do what they are trained for intervening and making a positive difference in people lives, not prosecuting them for ridiculous subjective theories that are so vague that any parent in Ireland may fall foul of this.
Psychology, especially Subjective Clinical Psychology has no place in our Courts or in the practice of Social Work. If the courts had returned most of the children in "Care" to their parents or extended families, at least 200 of them would probably be alive today. Every Judge who signed an order to place these children who died in "Care" should be called to account. Judges tend to side with Social Services and rely heavily on Forensic Psychologists, the "Whores of the Court" to make the decision for them, it absolves them and their reputations because if a child dies because a judge handed them back to abusers, the judges reputation is on the line. If the child dies in State "Care" nobody is ever responsible or held to account. I say that judges are responsible for at least half the deaths in "Care" in the last decade and should be held to account, a child can only be placed in "Care" on the orders of a Judge. The wise words of Judge Desmond Zaidan should have been listened to a few years ago when he said the system is “Unbalanced”, in favor of the State.
To the discredit of judges, one said "in all my time on the bench, I have never refused an order to remove a child from it's parents". You would think that judges would know that "Care" is an extremely bad thing for children and yet they grant orders without hearing any evidence. The orders are usually granted "Ex-Parte", which in this case means without the parents present. This is usually done illegally, in most cases, the child has already been "apprehended" to use their terminology, which means that the child is not "at risk" and therefore the orders are applied for fraudulently and granted illegally by the judge.
You would also think that given that the judge will order the children returned in over 60% of cases that a judge would be reluctant to grant the orders in the first instance and even more reluctant to grant the orders Ex-Parte. The Child Care Act allows for Ex-Parte Hearings and they are not even required to know the child's name to "Apprehend" them. It can take 8 months to get a case heard in full as the State ask for extension after extension. The reasons for a child be placed in "Care" often change frequently. Every dirty trick in the book is used against parents and most will end up losing their jobs because they are given a choice, maintain a relationship with your child and attend all the meetings and assessments (most of which occur 9 to 5 M to F) and if you want to see your children, you will end up losing your job. Presumably the whole objective of the exercise was to help the family (and millions made by the "experts" and professionals), but the families are often left jobless, homeless, suffering from PTSD and relying on State Benefit as a result of mere suspicion, often from a vindictive family member or "friend". Not in the child's best interests by any indicator you wish to use.
The answer is simple, Stop taking children into "Care". Scrap the Family Courts, there is no reason for them to exist. If Child Abuse or Neglect is a crime, then it should only be investigated by the ONLY Statutory Body with the legal right to investigate crime, the Gardai. There is no justification for Double Jeopardy, that a person can be tried in 2 separate courts and no justification for lowering the Burden of Proof to "Mere Suspicion", that something may (or equally may not) happen at some point in the future.
Social Workers should not have the powers to break up families, saying for example that a husband has to leave the home without anyone being charged with a crime. Punishment Without Crime is illegal and unjust. Imprisonment without benefit of a jury trial, without the scrutiny of the Media and the Public is an abuse of Human Rights. Let Social Worker do what they are trained for intervening and making a positive difference in people lives, not prosecuting them for ridiculous subjective theories that are so vague that any parent in Ireland may fall foul of this.
Psychology, especially Subjective Clinical Psychology has no place in our Courts or in the practice of Social Work. If the courts had returned most of the children in "Care" to their parents or extended families, at least 200 of them would probably be alive today. Every Judge who signed an order to place these children who died in "Care" should be called to account. Judges tend to side with Social Services and rely heavily on Forensic Psychologists, the "Whores of the Court" to make the decision for them, it absolves them and their reputations because if a child dies because a judge handed them back to abusers, the judges reputation is on the line. If the child dies in State "Care" nobody is ever responsible or held to account. I say that judges are responsible for at least half the deaths in "Care" in the last decade and should be held to account, a child can only be placed in "Care" on the orders of a Judge. The wise words of Judge Desmond Zaidan should have been listened to a few years ago when he said the system is “Unbalanced”, in favor of the State.
To the discredit of judges, one said "in all my time on the bench, I have never refused an order to remove a child from it's parents". You would think that judges would know that "Care" is an extremely bad thing for children and yet they grant orders without hearing any evidence. The orders are usually granted "Ex-Parte", which in this case means without the parents present. This is usually done illegally, in most cases, the child has already been "apprehended" to use their terminology, which means that the child is not "at risk" and therefore the orders are applied for fraudulently and granted illegally by the judge.
You would also think that given that the judge will order the children returned in over 60% of cases that a judge would be reluctant to grant the orders in the first instance and even more reluctant to grant the orders Ex-Parte. The Child Care Act allows for Ex-Parte Hearings and they are not even required to know the child's name to "Apprehend" them. It can take 8 months to get a case heard in full as the State ask for extension after extension. The reasons for a child be placed in "Care" often change frequently. Every dirty trick in the book is used against parents and most will end up losing their jobs because they are given a choice, maintain a relationship with your child and attend all the meetings and assessments (most of which occur 9 to 5 M to F) and if you want to see your children, you will end up losing your job. Presumably the whole objective of the exercise was to help the family (and millions made by the "experts" and professionals), but the families are often left jobless, homeless, suffering from PTSD and relying on State Benefit as a result of mere suspicion, often from a vindictive family member or "friend". Not in the child's best interests by any indicator you wish to use.
The "Experts" have never proffered any unique solutions to Child Protection, everything suggested has been failed UK policy. Geoffrey Shannon who is incidentally the Chair or the New Adoption Board as well as being UN Special Rapporteur for Children, has stated in the past that he would like to see a database of "Soft Information" kept on children. This was of course implemented, in fact railroaded, into place by the Blair Government at an initial cost of £42 Million. Social Workers and Psychologists instantly protested, "it will take us away from time spent working with families and children!" "there is nothing to be gained by this type of information". Not surprisingly, Social Workers and Psychologists dropped their objections when Blair made a refinement to the database, he excluded children of Social Workers, Psychologists, Judges, Celebrities and of course Politician from the Database. I wonder if Mr Shannon's children and Enda Kenny's will also be excluded from the Irish one?
In the next generation, the UK will have an Orwellian file on every person in the UK, from birth to death. Every detail of your life, even the smallest suspicions of anyone who comes into contact with you will all be recorded, your weight from birth to death. I laughed at the Conspiracy Theorists who said the Blair Government were using George Orwell's Novel "1984" as a blueprint for UK Society, I'm not laughing now. 400,000 people have access to this UK database, not including hackers.
It's laughable that such a database be installed in Ireland, given that many Social Workers don't have IT access, Barry Andrews that in one office that 5 shared 1 laptop. When you consider that Broadband Internet is not universally implemented in Ireland it's even more laughable or that HSE laptops have been stolen with private (in fact secret) information on Families and computers resold with private information erased but still retrievable on them. I'm not laughing.
When Minister Fitgerald announces the Child Protection Police it's likely they will have more powers than even the Stasi, the KGB, the Mafia and Murder Incorporated combined. The Supreme Court decision in this case, interestingly enough, was funded in great part by the UK Government who took the case to the Supreme Court. We've recently seen UK citizens being pursued in Irish Courts, chased all over the world to avoid their children being stolen. In a recent case a 14 year old boy who incidentally was born in Ireland and lived here happily for 6 months with no issues despite being investigated by the HSE, was taken by UK Social Workers with the aid of the Irish Courts and the Gardai to be placed in a special school at a cost of about £300,000 a year to the UK Taxpayer despite the fact he was in a normal school in Ireland with no issue. I had better not say too much about this case as I could secretly be jailed in the UK or Ireland for even mentioning this, I'm not kidding.
These stories rarely are covered in the Media, certainly not on RTE. There are only 2 real Journalist left in Ireland who discuss the cases at all John Waters and Kevin Myers. The stories often don't get the media attention they deserve. Even the Conspiracy theorists could have a field day with this issue but steer clear of it. Despite attempts by me, the Civil & Human Rights groups wont even look at this. A child dies in Palestine and there are public protests, 260 die in Ireland and nothing.
This is a black day for Irish Parents, mark my words. If Forced Adoption becomes law in Ireland it will lead to very serious consequences for Irish Parents and Children. The Adoption Act of 1988 was seen as Unconstitutional, I still believe it is. If you end up losing your children forever because of this, I sympathize, but you did this to yourself by allowing it to happen. You might want to re-read "1984" now to see what else is in store for us.
Joe Burns
These stories rarely are covered in the Media, certainly not on RTE. There are only 2 real Journalist left in Ireland who discuss the cases at all John Waters and Kevin Myers. The stories often don't get the media attention they deserve. Even the Conspiracy theorists could have a field day with this issue but steer clear of it. Despite attempts by me, the Civil & Human Rights groups wont even look at this. A child dies in Palestine and there are public protests, 260 die in Ireland and nothing.
This is a black day for Irish Parents, mark my words. If Forced Adoption becomes law in Ireland it will lead to very serious consequences for Irish Parents and Children. The Adoption Act of 1988 was seen as Unconstitutional, I still believe it is. If you end up losing your children forever because of this, I sympathize, but you did this to yourself by allowing it to happen. You might want to re-read "1984" now to see what else is in store for us.
Joe Burns
28 December 2011
