On 4 June 2024, representatives from the Irish Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth (DCEDIY), the Department of Health, the Department of Justice, the Independent Chair of the Barnahus National Agency Steering  Committee  (BNASC),  the judiciary, the  Health  Service  Executive  (HSE),  Children’s  Health  Ireland  (CHI),  Tusla  (Child and Family Agency), and  An  Garda  Síochána  (Police),  held meetings with the Icelandic Ministry of Justice and the Icelandic Ministry of Education and Children. Des Delaney, Chief Social Worker on the DCEDIY, and Aoife O’Malley, Manager of Barnahus West, gave presentations on the operation of the model in Ireland, the piloting of the Barnahus in Galway, and the plans to scale up the model at national level. The Icelandic colleagues shared the process in taking cases to Barnahus and to court, how the delays in intervention and sentencing have been reduced, and how they collect data on indicators to assess the wellbeing of children across the country.

Following the meetings with the Ministries, the Irish delegation also visited Bjarkarhlíð, the Icelandic Family Justice Centre, which is a one-stop shop for adults who are victims of domestic violence, hate crimes, and trafficking, amongst other types of abuse. Adults that were sexually abused as children may attend Bjarkarhlíð, were they will receive counselling, legal advice, social advice, and support. A policewoman is on site and provides information about the process of cases in the justice system and manages cases within the police.

On 5 June, the Irish partners visited the Barnahus premises in Reykjavik and met with Ólöf Ásta Farestveit, the  General Director of the Icelandic National Agency for Children and Families, Margarét Magnúsdottír, the Leader of Iceland Barnahus, and Kristín Birna Björnsdótir, psychologist and forensic interviewer in Barnahus. The purpose of the visit was to exchange experiences and knowledge on the implementation of the Barnahus model, exchange impressions on carrying out forensic / specialist interviews, and to learn about new trends and challenges, such as taking in unaccompanied minor children to be interviewed in Barnahus, and the increase of cases of online child sexual abuse.

The Icelandic government is a pioneer in implementing the Barnahus model, being the first country in Europe to introduce it as a public independent agency and having applied the model for over 25 years. Consequently, the Icelandic counterparts were able to provide the Irish stakeholders with great insight and in-depth knowledge of the history and implementation dynamics of the model, and to share good practices to address potential challenges.