Irish authorities are involved in efforts to resolve 52 ongoing abduction cases, where children have been moved to or from Ireland.
The Irish Central Authority, which falls under the remit of the Department of Justice, handles international parental child abduction cases under The Hague Convention.
As of August 7th, the authority was working on 39 outgoing cases, where a parent is in Ireland but their child or children were taken to another country. It is also working on 13 incoming cases, where a parent in another country is seeking the return of their child or children from Ireland.
In 30 of the 39 outgoing cases, the children in question are understood to be in Europe, with nine cases involving children who are outside Europe. Eight of the 13 incoming cases relate to children who were previously located elsewhere in Europe, with five cases involving children previously outside Europe.
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“Each case can involve one or multiple children,” a spokesman for the Department of Justice said.
“In the majority of cases, this arises after a relationship between parents breaks down, and one parent chooses to leave their country of residency prior to issues of custody and guardianship being finalised.”
An Irish man recently initiated legal proceedings against the Government over its perceived failure to intervene in locating his young daughter, whose mother moved her to Poland without his consent. Irish authorities said they have “provided extensive consular assistance” in the case.
The father has also criticised Polish authorities for their failure to locate his young daughter and said The Hague Convention was “not fit for purpose”.
In 2024, 20 outgoing cases were resolved, where children were returned to Ireland; nine cases were finalised in 2023; 16 in 2022; 31 in 2021; and 15 in 2020.
In 2024, 21 incoming cases were resolved with children returned from Ireland to another country. A further 10 cases were resolved in 2023; eight in 2022; 19 in 2021 and eight in 2020. As with outgoing cases, some involved multiple children.
Ireland is one of over 100 countries party to The Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction.
The convention “aims to ensure that an abducted child is returned to the country where they normally live, so that issues of custody and guardianship can be decided by the courts of that country,” a spokesperson for the Department of Justice said.
The authority “communicates updates or requests for information between a parent in Ireland and the authorities of the other state involved,” a statement noted.
“It is not involved in the legal proceedings of the other country. It relies on the authorities of the other state to progress the application through their institutions and to keep it informed of any developments.”
