Appeal on mootness in child care discovery case is dismissed

Court of Appeal upholds the High Court's decision not to entertain a consultative case stated by the District Court, which had become moot, the case involving the Garda Commissioner's appeal against the High Court's refusal to answer questions of law regarding the disclosure of documents from a Garda investigation file in child care proceedings, where the High Court had determined the case was moot as the criminal investigation had concluded, and the parents had been charged and served with a book of evidence, thus having access to the documents in question, on the grounds that the High Court was correct in its assessment of mootness, and there were no exceptional circumstances warranting a departure from the general rule against hearing moot cases.