Children First Bill 2014 has been published but impementation is some time away

This Bill, when enacted,will put the Children First guidelines on a statutory basis. I strongly suggest you read the Bill yourself rather than relying on secondhand accounts.

Note that the Bill must go through various stages and change before it is passed by the Oireachtas and signed into law by the President. After that, as I understand it, the various sections of the legislation must be brought into operation separately by the Minister - this is unlikely to happen as soon as the Bill is signed into law because the Department of Children and Youth Affairs is anxious that training first be put in place throughout the country on how to apply the legislation.

In other words, the implementation of this proposed legislation could be quite some time away.

Meanwhile, members of the Irish Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy are expected to operate according to the Children First guidelines published by the Department of Children and Youth Affairs and which have been adopted by the IACP.

Links to resources:

Children First Bill 2014 (pdf)
Explanatory Memorandum, Children First Bill 2014 (pdf)
Children First Guidelines 2011