Key reports from the State’s special rapporteur on child protection were delayed, internal documents have shown. Three annual reports were submitted in recent weeks by the outgoing rapporteur, the human rights lawyer Caoilfhionn Gallagher, covering her three-year term in office. Previous rapporteurs have said government departments ignore correspondence and delay publication of annual reports. In 2023, Gallagher told officials she could not take on a review of alignment between Irish legislation and the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child without “changed resourcing”. The emails also show several exchanges regarding the payment of the €25,000 annual stipend associated with the rapporteur role.

Source: The Irish Times February 11, 2026 13:01 UTC