A new website which highlights the reasons why children are taken into State care by the HSE has been launched.

It will be the first time that the reasons for HSE interventions will be revealed, as up until now, the in camera rule in family law cases has prevented this information from being revealed. The website is www.childlawproject.ie

The website has highlighted significant regional differences in the numbers of children taken into care. It aims to allow the reporting of proceedings while withholding the names of those children involved.

Among the 30 cases published so far are one in which a baby was reported as having been placed in a wheelie bin by her mother who suffered from mental illness; one in which a 16-year-old girl asked to come into care; and one in which four children returned to their mother, a recovering alcoholic, after a period in care.

The scheme is designed to allow controlled reporting of child care cases to foster greater uniformity across the State in the imposition of the law.

Director of the Child Care Law Reporting project, Dr Carol Coulter, believes the operation of the website will shed light on the secretive State care system, and also help to expose some of the worst cases of child neglect.

The Government’s child protection expert Geoffrey Shannon said it gave an insight into society’s failure to properly address the alcohol problem and also the level of mental health issues emerging.

The website also shows huge variations in the breakdown of childcare orders granted for neglect and abuse by district court judges around the country, the Irish Independent reports.

Records reveal 225 cases of children in Letterkenny, Co Donegal, for example, being handed over to the Health Service Executive (HSE) in 2011.

This compares to one in Mullingar for the same year, eight in Killarney, 10 in Athlone, 21 in Castlebar and 23 in Carlow – roughly similar sized towns.

“I would be concerned,” Mr Shannon said. “I think it is important there is a uniform application of the Child Care Act throughout the country. It leads to a sort of geographical injustice for a child.”

Dr Coulter said she couldn’t yet say why there was such huge differences nationwide.

“Is it because they are being sought? Is it because there is more voluntary care in some parts of the country? We just don’t know,” she said.

In total there were 7,928 applications made to district courts to put children into state care during 2011. Some 7,410 were granted.

Around two-fifths of cases were in Dublin, with the next busiest courts in Cork, Waterford, Limerick, Galway and Letterkenny.