ProtectChildrenNow

In 2019, the UN stated that children in Ireland are silenced when they allege sexual abuse. 90% of 3,000 child sexual abuse allegations came to nothing in 2018. Read our infographic to learn how #tusla, #familylawcourts and the Gardai fail children. broadsheet.ie/2020/02/20/the…

This is winter in Gaza. People are facing torrential rain and heavy winds while living in makeshift shelters. All the while Israel continues to block or delay the entry of vital supplies like tents, tarpaulins, and temporary housing. Our medical teams are treating respiratory infections, wound complications, skin diseases, and babies suffering from severe cold – linked to these harsh living conditions. Now, on top of that, Israel is taking steps to stop us and other NGOs from working in Gaza entirely. This is a cynical attempt to prevent organisations from providing services in Palestine and is in breach of Israel's obligations under international humanitarian law.

Meanwhile, the land grab in the W. Bank and the slow burning genocide in Gaza continue. That's the main aim of Trump's foreign policy: To 'flood the zone' with one atrocity after another. First, Gaza. Now, Venezuela. Tomorrow Colombia, Greenland, Mexico, who knows... This way we never have the time to discuss any of them in detail! theguardian.com/world/2026/jan…

JUSTICE FOR HIND RAJAB

A new film tells the story of a five-year-old girl whose killing in Gaza shocked the world. Hind Rajab made desperate phone calls to the Palestinian Red Crescent Society as her family tried to escape fighting in 2024. The film fuses the real calls with a dramatised performance.

#Israel’s suspension of multiple aid agencies from #Gaza is outrageous. The pattern of unlawful restrictions on humanitarian access & these arbitrary suspensions make an already intolerable situation worse for the people of Gaza. States must take urgent steps & insist that Israel allows aid to get into Gaza unhindered. ➡️ ohchr.org/en/press-relea…

@AllianceBirth More fodder for the Parental Alienation machine

𝐓𝐮𝐬𝐥𝐚 𝐅𝐚𝐜𝐞𝐬 𝐑𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰 𝐚𝐬 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐁𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐬 𝐒𝐲𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐦 𝐭𝐨 𝐄𝐧𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐄𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐂𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐝 𝐈𝐬 𝐂𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐝 The Government is developing a new “early warning” system to monitor vulnerable children following the Daniel Aruebose case. The initiative builds on a large programme of about 42,000 wellbeing checks, focused on children whose Tusla cases were closed during the pandemic and who have had no further contact with the agency. Children’s minister Norma Foley said PPS numbers are being used to cross-check children’s records with child benefit, school and early-years enrolments, helping establish their current location and ensuring relevant services know to alert Tusla if concerns arise. She believes this PPS-based approach could underpin a new automatic “eyes on the child” system that would flag when children are not appearing at key stages in State services. The wellbeing checks are overseen by an independent steering group chaired by Tanya Ward of the Children’s Rights Alliance, with representatives from multiple departments and agencies. The group is due to conclude its work by March 2026. The programme received €3.2 million funding in the most recent budget and is intended to strengthen child-protection systems by learning from recent cases, including Daniel’s death, which remains under criminal investigation.

Israel is a demonic entity. As Gazans freeze to death and with no buildings remaining they now ban the charities that provide the last means of survival. Israel should be sanctioned and dismantled - evil that's impossible to comprehend. Armed by the US/EU/UK.

UPDATE: Two-month-old Palestinian baby Arkan Firas Musleh was the latest infant to die as a result of the extreme cold.  Gaza's Ministry of Health also announced the death of a Palestinian man in a building collapse onto a tent in the Tel al-Hawa neighbourhood of Gaza City. Read more: aje.io/33slx3

Israel has held Gaza doctor Hussam Abu Safia for an entire year without charge. His son is pleading for his release, describing his father’s mistreatment in detention and recalling his refusal to abandon his patients at Kamal Adwan Hospital.

@rtenews Seeing as public healthcare gets better outcomes for mothers and babies this is good.

As of 1 January, the vast majority of consultants on public only contracts will no longer be able to treat private patients in public hospitals rte.ie/news/ireland/2…

A year has passed since the detention of my father, In this white coat, he walked alone amidst death, destruction, and in front of tanks—not because he was fearless, but because his oath and his humanity were greater than any fear. He refused to abandon the children and the wounded at Hospital , and for that, he was detained. This image is a testament to the courage of the man who was the last line of defense for life, and it is the very same scene that ended with his unjust arrest. A full year of injustice has passed. Today, we ask for nothing but his freedom. Please share his story to keep his voice alive.

Every major news outlet should run this headline.

𝐓𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐌𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐒𝐞𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐅𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐂𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐫𝐞𝐧 𝐛𝐲 𝐓𝐮𝐬𝐥𝐚 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐂𝐡𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐦𝐚𝐬 Many of you have been denied access by Tusla to your children this Christmas. Some of you have been refused contact altogether. Some of you prepared gifts with love, only to be told they would not be handed over to your children. There is no justification for this pain. You are still a mother. Your love still exists. Your child was not forgotten. Christmas is meant to be about comfort and belonging. For too many mothers and children, Christmas has become another day of enforced separation and silent grief. To every mother carrying this loss, please know you are not alone. Your pain is real. Your story matters. And your voice deserves to be heard. The Alliance of Birth Mothers Campaigning for Justice stand in solidarity with you this Christmas and we promise that we will continue to advocate for you to the best of our ability in 2026.

@AllianceBirth Conor O'Mahony was very good

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐑𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐮𝐫 𝐨𝐧 𝐂𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐝 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧, 𝐂𝐚𝐨𝐢𝐥𝐟𝐡𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐧 𝐆𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐠𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐊𝐂 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟑 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐚 𝐜𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐨𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐫𝐞𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐆𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐎𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐭𝐚𝐬. 𝐍𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐥𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐞𝐞 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐬 𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐫, 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐬𝐧’𝐭 𝐬𝐮𝐛𝐦𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐚 𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐥𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭 𝐚𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐦 𝐨𝐟 𝐨𝐟𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐧𝐞𝐱𝐭 𝐦𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐡. In the final days before the Dáil rose for Christmas, an uncomfortable question was put on the record. Deputy @ClaireKerrane @sinnfeinireland asked Minister @NormaFoleyTD1 why Ireland has still not seen a single annual report from the Special Rapporteur on Child Protection @caoilfhionnanna despite having been appointed almost three years ago. This was not a rhetorical point. The Special Rapporteur took up office in February 2023. Her term is now close to ending. Yet no annual report has been submitted to Government, laid before the Oireachtas or published. That sits uneasily with the stated purpose of the role and with what was promised at the time of appointment. In response, Minister Norma Foley confirmed that her Department has not received any report from the current rapporteur. She said officials have been engaging with her and that a report covering February 2023 to December 2024 is now expected imminently, along with retrospective observations on a period before the term even began. A further report for 2025 is expected in March 2026, after the term has effectively ended. Deputy Kerrane described this as bizarre. She was right. An office created to provide independent annual scrutiny of child protection law and litigation has produced no public output for almost an entire term. This was not what was promised. When Caoilfhionn Gallagher KC was appointed in January 2023, the press release issued by then minister Roderic O’Gorman was explicit. The role required the preparation of an annual report, to be submitted to Government, approved for publication and laid before the Oireachtas. These reports were described as a key mechanism for accountability in the child protection system. The same press release praised the outgoing rapporteur, Professor Conor O’Mahony @childlawucc for delivering detailed and influential annual reports throughout his term. He also engaged actively with civil society. That contrast matters. The Alliance of Birth Mothers Campaigning for Justice engaged extensively with Professor O’Mahony during his time in office. He responded to emails and considered submissions. Since 2023, the Alliance has repeatedly attempted to engage with the current rapporteur. Those emails have gone unanswered. No engagement has taken place. This is not a personal criticism. It is a question of public accountability. The Special Rapporteur is accountable to the Oireachtas. Independent oversight cannot happen in silence, behind closed doors, or at the very end of a term in a retrospective bundle. Annual reporting is not optional. It is a core requirement of the role. Child protection is one of the most serious responsibilities of the State. Oversight only works when it is visible, timely and accountable. Silence is not oversight. The Dáil exchange before Christmas should not be allowed to quietly disappear into the recess.

Never would I have imagined seeing European leaders turn against their own citizens-crushing protest, free journalism, academic freedom-all to avoid holding a genocidal state to account. Yet History rarely announces itself as barbarism; it often arrives disguised as civilization.

The reality of brutal oppression - as Israelis decide how to date, a few miles away Gazan babies die of the cold. Israel is barbaric

Doctors Without Borders has warned that babies and children in the Gaza Strip are dying from harsh winter weather, calling on Israel to ease its aid blockade as the military continues to violate the ceasefire and press on with its genocidal war aje.io/e4n00q

Today Israel bombed a school turned shelter in Gaza as a wedding was being held. An IOF tank fired on the building with 6 people murdered and dozens injured. Israeli forces then prevented ambulance and civil defence crews from reaching the injured, children amongst them. There is no ceasefire. There is no peace. Just brutal colonial oppression. FREE PALESTINE TAKE ACTION

"#Gaza remains in a man-made hunger crisis. The latest report from @theIPCinfo underscores how fragile the gains have been since the ceasefire began in October. While #Gaza Governorate is no longer classified as being in famine, 1.6 million people still face high levels of acute food insecurity. To end this catastrophe, supplies must be let in at scale and humanitarians allowed to do their job. UNRWA has food parcels for 1.1 million people and flour for the entire population waiting to enter the Gaza Strip." – @‌UNLazzarini