Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 11 October 2023
6. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Justice to outline her proposals for family law reform, with particular reference to the need for an indicative timescale; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [44100/23]
View answerThis question relates to the very welcome reforms that the Minister is proposing to take regarding family law reform. There is a need for an urgency greater than we have anticipated up to now. I ask the Minister to accelerate the programme to meet the needs of the situation.
I thank Deputy Durkan for raising the very important matter of proposals for family law reform with particular reference to the need for an indicative timescale. As the Deputy is aware, we are leading an ambitious programme of family justice reform. The Minister, Deputy McEntee, and I published the family justice strategy in November of last year. It sets out a vision for a family justice system of the future. This system will focus on the needs and rights of children and will assist their parents in making decisions that affect all of the family. We intend to achieve this through the implementation of more than 50 actions across nine goals, with timescales up to the end of 2025 and progress updates published annually. The strategy is foundational in nature. It outlines the steps needed to move towards a streamlined, user-friendly family justice system which supports and protects children and their families. As the strategy was developed, we listened to and acknowledged the many issues and concerns about how the current system operates.
The actions stress the importance of children’s welfare and the need to ensure their best interests are considered in conjunction with their constitutional rights. To that end, my Department has commenced a review to examine the role of expert reports in the family law process, the commissioning and availability of these reports, and their content and use. Later this year, a working group will be established to review the effectiveness of the current arrangements for hearing the voice of the child in private family law cases.
The family courts legislation is a key part of the strategy, and an important element of the family justice reforms. It will provide for the establishment of family courts as divisions of the existing court structures, each dealing with family law cases appropriate to its jurisdiction. The Bill completed Second Stage in the Seanad earlier this year and work is ongoing in my Department and the Office of the Parliamentary Counsel to prepare for Committee Stage in consultation with relevant Departments, State bodies and other stakeholders. These initiatives mark the beginning of the reform of how the family justice system operates. My vision is to make the system work better for everyone engaging with it, particularly for those most in need of additional support and protection, including victims of domestic and sexual violence, vulnerable parents and most of all children.
I thank the Minister of State for his reply. I recognise that the end of the year is a particular landmark. The question I am trying to pursue is the extent, if any, to which the Minister of State can intervene to speed up the process. This would bring on board certain aspects of the proposals to ensure that the issues referred to by many in this House are addressed. I refer to the fact that children are forcibly removed from their parents, mostly women who are mothers, but from some men. This creates a situation whereby children are psychologically damaged as a result of being forced apart from their parents by what I would call the clumsiness of the system at present.
I can assure the Deputy that the review is a priority for the Department. The voice of the child in court proceedings is essential to everything this Department does in terms of reviews. In relation to parental alienation, as the Deputy will be aware, my Department published a research report and policy paper on parental alienation on our website last May. Officials from the Department also briefed Oireachtas Members and stakeholder groups on the recommendations of the paper.
Both the paper and the report recognise that parental alienation is a highly contested and divisive concept. While there is little concrete information on the exact extent of accusations of parental alienation within the Irish courts, the research report found that, similar to other courts internationally, there appears to be an increase in claims of parental alienation in family law proceedings. It appears to arise particularly in custody and access disputes and in cases where allegations of domestic, sexual and gender-based violence feature. Despite the highly contested nature of the concept, there was consensus in the public consultation that the means to address parental alienation lie in improvements to the Irish family law courts and family justice system. The family justice strategy puts children at the centre of the system and emphasises the need to ensure they are listened to and heard and their views are given due regard. I can assure the Deputy that these are priority issues for us.
