asked the Minister for Justice when the Status of Children Act, 1987 will come into force.
Written Answers. - Status of Children Act.
80.
The Status of Children Act, 1987, was enacted on 14 December last. Part I, which contains the commencement provisions and a provision dealing with the interpretation in this and future Acts of terms denoting relationships, is already in operation. The other parts will come into operation six months after the date of enactment, or on such earlier day or days as may be specified in orders made by me under section 1.
The period of six months is designed to give time for appropriate rules of court and ministerial regulations to be made before the Act comes into effect. Rules are being prepared by the relevant court rules committees and work is proceeding on the preparation of regulations. If these rules and regulations are made sufficiently early to warrant the making of orders bringing the Act into force before the six months has elapsed, I will, of course, make the necessary orders.