Department of Justice officials dealt with 94 cases of attempted child abduction last year, new figures show.
The cases, which increased from 91 the previous year, involved 49 attempts to bring children into the State and 45 attempts to take children out of the country.
Of the cases that came before the courts last year, judges ordered the child's return in the majority of cases (20) and refused the return of the children in just six cases.
The return of a child is refused where there is a grave risk that it would expose the young person to physical or psychological harm. In a large number of cases children were voluntarily returned (20), or the case was withdrawn (11).
The remainder of cases were still being processed through the courts (32), or were at different legal stages.
The cases all involved the central authority for child abduction, a unit based at the Department of Justice, which was set up following the enactment of a European convention on international child abduction.
The authority facilitates the return of children who have been taken from one state to another, against the wishes of a parent with custody rights. In addition, there is provision for a custody or access order granted in one state to be recognised or enforced in another.
Of the new applications received by the central authority in 2004, 66 per cent involved the UK, 7 per cent involved the remaining EU states, 9 per cent involved the US and 18 per cent involved other states.
The unit has dealt with more than 1,000 cases of incoming and outgoing child abduction involving 1,652 children since it was established in 1991.
The number of children subject to child abduction proceedings has varied from year to year, rising to a peak of 184 in 1995. Figures have remained relatively steady over the last five years.
