I am a Lecturer/Assistant Professor in Equality Studies at the School of Social Policy, Social Work and Social Justice, University College Dublin. My academic qualifications are in Law and Social Policy, gaining a PhD in Social Policy inn 2009 for a study on the government of child-family relations in Ireland. My research interests lie in the area of childhood inequality and child policy. My research to date has engaged with various areas of law and policy affecting children and I have a particular interest in the application of governmentality theory to the study of childhood inequality and in the discourses of childhood which shape law and policy for children. Over the past year I have been mainly been focused on collaborative qualitative research on the support needs of refugee children, young people and families and am currently involved in qualitative research projects on refugee family reunification and refugee integration.