A Health and Social Care Trust v Ms T

[1]������� The identities of the parties to these proceedings have been anonymised in order to protect the interests of the child to whom the proceedings relate.� No information is to be disclosed or published without the permission of the court which may identify the child or any associated adults in any way.

[2]������� Ms Martina Connolly represented the Trust for the purposes of these proceedings.� The mother was represented by Ms Adele O�Grady QC and Ms Niamh Devlin while the Guardian Ad Litem was represented by Ms Grainne Murphy.� I am grateful to all counsel for their assistance and their submissions during the course of the hearing.

[3]������� This case involves an application by the Trust under Article 53 of the Children (NI) Order 1995 to reduce the frequency of the mother�s contact with her son F.� He is four years and a few months old.� A care order was made two years ago in April 2015.� At that time the care plan was that an application would be made to free him for adoption.� There was then and is now no intention to return him to his mother�s care, however much she would like that to happen.

�It is likely that she would be unable to support a long term foster placement and therefore there is a very real risk that such a placement would be undermined and would break down.�

[7]������� The foster carers supported F while contact with his mother took place five days a week.� It was eventually reduced to once per month with the inevitable prospect that if a successful freeing application was made it would most probably reduce further to something like the level of four times per annum (or even less) now sought by the Trust and Guardian.�