Review Essay: Regulating Late Modern Childrearing in Ireland

pas t twenty y e a r s or so. A l m o s t a l l these changes have occurred u n d e r the heading of "Chi ld Protection", a quite distinctive a n d identifiable w a y of doing chi ld welfare work w h i c h comes complete w i t h a n ideology of childhood, a set of professional procedures a n d practices based on beliefs about a phenomenon ent i t l ed "child abuse" a n d a n e w social w o r k v o c a b u l a r y embedded i n a discourse w h i c h is only very r a r e l y questioned. I r e l a n d h a s been no exception to th i s ru le a n d the interest ing a n d important collection of essays publ i shed i n the S u m m e r 1996 edi t ion of the Journal of the Institute of Public Administration of Ireland d i sp lays a l l the contradict ions a n d tens ions cur­ ren t ly exhibited by those academics a n d professionals engaged i n r e s e a r c h a n d pract ice i n ch i ld protection. I t is possible to see w i t h i n these e s says a combination of scepticism, unease a n d uncerta inty from most of the academic contributors , hard-headed , pragmat i c a n d rea l i s t i c a s se s sment s from p r a c ­ t it ioners a n d managers of w h a t "child protection" c a n achieve and , i n at l eas t I I N T R O D U C T I O N