There was a big increase in childcare applications from the
HSE last year, according to the latest report from the 
Courts Services.
Supervision orders,
where a family receives supervision from social workers, rose by 16 per cent, to
731, while care orders, where children are taken into the care of the HSE, rose
by 11 per cent, to 1,046.
According to the
figures, published earlier this week, there was also an increase in applications
relating to guardianship of children, custody and access.
The report said that
the vast majority of these were granted or withdrawn, normally following
agreement.
There were 2,783
applications for guardianship in the District Court, of which 2,072 were
granted, 643 were withdrawn or struck out and 68 were refused.
This compared with
2,463 the previous year, an increase of 12 per cent. Most applications were from
unmarried fathers.
Custody applications
in the District Court were up 44 per cent to 1,380, of which 767 were granted
and 574 withdrawn; there were 4,784 applications for access, of which 3,697 were
granted and 995 withdrawn.