Vol. 518 No. 2
65 Mr. Shatter asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform if he will introduce a system of regional family courts and the reform of the family court structure as recommended in a variety of reports; and the progress made to date in this regard. [11050/00]
The Deputy will be aware that the issue of regional family courts has been the subject of parliamentary questions to which I replied on 26 January and 7 March last.
The current position is that family law cases throughout the country can be heard at the appropriate local court venue which has jurisdiction in the matter at Circuit and District Court level.
Two reports, the Law Reform Commission report on family courts in 1996 and the final report of the working group on a courts commission in 1998, have included recommendations on the future development of family law courts. These recommendations have covered many areas such as regional family courts, information centres, mediation and judicial training. All the recommendations of both groups are now being addressed by the Courts Service.
As far as the Government is concerned, one of the key issues in An Action Programme for the Millennium is the establishment of regional family courts. The Courts Service has been informed of this objective in the context of the future development of Courts Service policy.
I can assure the Deputy that the Government is fully committed to responding positively to the recommendations contained in these reports. As Minister, I share with the authors of the reports the common aim of ensuring that the proper service is provided for the public and that the rights and interests of children and all those involved in the family law process are fully protected.
