Chapter 12 of 13 · Young people · 3 of 4
The Children Court in Ireland: the District Court sitting for under-18s
Checked 15 Oct 2026the Road Traffic Acts, the Criminal Justice Acts and the District Court Rules as amended.
The Children Court is the District Court sitting in private for under-18s: a parent or guardian must attend, the child cannot be identified, detention is a last resort. 3,653 orders in 2025.
Written for the person who has to go to court. This guide covers the District Court of the Republic of Ireland.
The Children Court is not a separate court. It is the District Court, sitting under the Children Act 2001, to hear charges against people under 18. The judge is a District Court judge, the law of evidence is the same, and the maximum penalties are those for the offence. What differs is everything around that: the court sits in private, a parent or guardian must be there, the child's identity is protected by law, the court must consider the child's welfare and every alternative before detention, and the options it can choose from are different. This guide is for the parent who has to attend.
Where it sits
In Dublin the Children Court has its own building at Smithfield, Dublin 7, and sits daily. Everywhere else, the Children Court is the local District Court sitting at a separate time, or on a separate day, from the adult list, so that children are not mixed with adult defendants in the building. The summons or charge sheet names the venue and the time. If it is not the courthouse you expected, /find-a-court lists every office and the Courts Service's page on each venue says whether a Children Court sits there.
In private, and the anonymity rule
Section 93 of the Children Act 2001 prohibits the publication or broadcast of any report or picture that reveals the name, address or school of a child in Children Court proceedings, or any other particular likely to identify the child. The court sits in private: the public is excluded, and only the parties, their lawyers, the parent or guardian, the prosecuting garda, court staff and anyone the judge permits may be present. Journalists may be admitted but cannot identify the child.
The rule binds everyone, including you. Posting about the case, naming the child, the school or the other children involved, or sharing a photograph from outside the court, is a breach. This site publishes nothing about any child's case and never will.
Parents must attend
The Act requires the parent or guardian of a child before the Children Court to attend every stage of the proceedings. The court can excuse attendance where it would be unreasonable to require it, and where a parent cannot be found or will not attend the court can proceed, but a parent who does not attend without reason can be dealt with for it. The court can also make orders directed at a parent: a bond to exercise proper control over the child, or an order to pay a fine, costs or compensation imposed on the child where the court considers the parent's conduct contributed to the offence.
Attendance is not a formality. The court speaks to you, asks about school, home and what has changed, and your account is part of what it weighs.
The first appearance
The case reaches the court by summons or by charge sheet. A charge sheet follows an arrest and a charge at a Garda station; what happened there, and the rights your child had, are in A child arrested: rights at the Garda station. A summons arrives by post or in person weeks later.
At the first appearance the charge is read. The child, through a solicitor, pleads guilty or not guilty or asks for time. Before a plea, ask the judge for legal aid. The court may also, at this stage, ask whether the Garda Youth Diversion Programme has been considered: the Act lets the court refer a child who admits the offence back to the Programme, and that route remains open after a charge. A child charged: the Garda Youth Diversion Programme comes first explains it.
On a guilty plea the court usually adjourns for a Probation Service report before deciding anything, and the Act requires one before most community sanctions and before detention. On a not guilty plea a hearing date is fixed; the prosecution calls its evidence, the child's solicitor cross-examines, and the judge decides. Bail is dealt with as for an adult, with conditions tailored to a child: a curfew, school attendance, staying away from a place or a person. The site's walk-through of the day, What happens in the District Court, applies, with the differences above.
Legal aid
The judge grants criminal legal aid under the Criminal Justice (Legal Aid) Act 1962 where means are insufficient and the charge is serious enough. For a child, the parents' means count, and the statement of means is yours to complete. Almost every Children Court case meets the gravity test, because the Act's sanctions and the possibility of detention make it serious enough; the remaining question is means. There is no contribution. Ask at the first appearance; /legal-aid explains the form.
In 2026 criminal legal aid solicitors withdrew their services from mid-June over the flat €520 fee, and Children Court lists were adjourned like every other. If your child's solicitor has withdrawn, attend every date, tell the judge, and ask for an adjournment and for a certificate; /changes tracks the dispute.
The options the court has
The Act gives the Children Court a wider and more graduated set of options than the adult court, in a deliberate order. The court must consider the least restrictive option that is suitable before moving to the next.
| Option | What it means |
|---|---|
| Dismissal under the Probation Act | Charge proved but dismissed without a conviction, with or without conditions |
| Referral back to the Diversion Programme | Where the child admits the offence and the Director accepts |
| A fine | Capped below the adult level; the Act fixes it at half the adult maximum |
| A compensation order | Payable by the child or, in some cases, the parent |
| A bond from the parent | To exercise proper control over the child |
| Community sanctions | A probation order, a day centre order, a training or activities order, a residential supervision order, a suitable person (care and supervision) order, a mentor order, a restriction on movement order, and a community service order for a child aged 16 or 17 |
| A suspended detention order | Detention not served unless a condition is breached |
| Detention | A last resort, at the Oberstown Children Detention Campus |
Detention is lawful only where the court is satisfied that it is the only suitable way of dealing with the child, and the court must record its reasons. The Act also requires the court to have regard to the child's age and maturity, to the welfare of the child, and to the principle that a child should be dealt with in a way that lets them continue in education, training or employment. A child under 18 is never sent to an adult prison.
The 2025 figures
The Courts Service Annual Report 2025 records 3,653 orders made by the Children Court in the year. The breakdown by offence group is below; the Courts Service does not publish outcomes by type of order for the Children Court in the figures this site uses.
| Offence group | Orders in 2025 |
|---|---|
| Larceny (theft and related) | 1,070 |
| Road traffic | 853 |
| Public order | 651 |
| Drugs | 574 |
| Other | 500 |
| Total | 3,653 |
Set against the District Court's 342,791 criminal offences in the same year, the Children Court is a small part of the system, and the Garda Youth Diversion Programme, which deals with most children before any charge, is the reason.
Appeals and the record
A decision of the Children Court can be appealed to the Circuit Court within 14 days, like any District Court order; the appeal is a full rehearing, in private, under the same anonymity rule. A finding of guilt against a child is a conviction, but the Act has its own provision for children: where the offence was committed under 18, the case was not dealt with in the Central Criminal Court, three years have passed and the child has not reoffended, the finding is treated for most purposes as if it had never happened, so that the person can answer most later questions as having no conviction. A Probation Act dismissal is not a conviction at any age.
Where this leaves you
For the parent, the Children Court is a private hearing before a District Court judge, with you present at every stage, a solicitor for your child paid for under legal aid where means are insufficient, a Probation Service report before most decisions, and a list of options that starts with dismissal and diversion and ends, only as a last resort, with detention.
The court day tool sets out what to bring and what the day looks like. Before any court date, read the Garda's own description of the Garda Youth Diversion Programme, because the court itself can send the case back there, and read /legal-aid so that the statement of means is ready for the first appearance. If you may qualify for legal aid for your child, ask the judge for it at that first appearance.
Frequently asked questions
What is the Children's Court in Ireland?
It is the District Court sitting under the Children Act 2001 to hear charges against people under 18. It sits in private, a parent or guardian must attend, and nothing that could identify the child may be published. In Dublin it sits at Smithfield; elsewhere the local District Court sits as the Children Court at a separate time from the adult list.
Do parents have to go to the Children's Court?
Yes. The Act requires a parent or guardian to attend every stage of the proceedings unless the court excuses them, and the court can adjourn and in some cases issue a warrant if a parent does not attend without reason. The court can also make orders against a parent, such as a bond to exercise proper control.
Can a child go to jail in Ireland?
The Act makes detention a last resort, to be imposed only where the court is satisfied that it is the only suitable way of dealing with the child, and children under 18 are detained at the Oberstown Children Detention Campus, not in a prison. The court must consider every community sanction first. The site does not predict any outcome.
What sentences can the Children's Court give?
The options run from a dismissal under the Probation Act, through a fine capped below the adult level, to community sanctions such as a probation order, a day centre order or a community service order for a child of 16 or 17, and detention as a last resort. The court can also order a Probation Service report before deciding and refer the child back to the Garda Youth Diversion Programme.
Is the Children's Court open to the public?
No. It sits in private; only the parties, their lawyers, the parent or guardian, the garda, court staff and, by leave of the judge, bona fide press and others directly concerned may attend. Section 93 of the Children Act 2001 forbids publishing anything that could identify the child.