The Family Mediation Service is a State funded, professional, confidential service which enables couples, who have decided to separate or who have already separated, to negotiate their own separation agreement in a non-adversarial way. Family mediation aims to assist couples to reach agreement on all issues in relation to their separation including financial provision, the family home and property and parenting arrangements for the children so that ongoing close relationships with both parents are made possible for the children.
Over the past two years the Family Mediation Service has been radically expanded throughout the country in line with the Government commitment in An Action Programme for the Millennium to establish a nation-wide service. The service is available from centres in Cork, Tralee, Wexford, Athlone, Dundalk, Galway, Tallaght in west Dublin and the Castlebar centre which opened its doors in January 2000. These new centres are in addition to the Limerick and Dublin centres. The latter has been relocated to larger premises to deal with an expansion in the number of clients. Last year more than 1,000 couples were assisted by the Family Mediation Service. I now plan to establish the service on a statutory basis.
The expansion of the Family Mediation Service to the north west of the country so that the people of Sligo, Leitrim and Donegal have ready access to this important service continues to be a high priority for my Department. The Family Mediation Service has recently advertised for mediators to serve in various locations of the country and I am hopeful that a suitably qualified family mediator for the north west will come forward through this process.
In the meantime, I have brought forward the commencement of the Castlebar service and pending the establishment of a service for the north west couples are advised to contact this centre at Family Mediation Service, Family Centre, Chapel Street, Castlebar, County Mayo, Telephone (091) 509730.
