Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 5 November 2013
785. Deputy Seán Kyne asked the Minister for Justice and Equality his plans to establish the Mediators Institute of Ireland as regulator of the sector; and if the MII would come under the remit of the Ombudsman. [46281/13]
View answerThe position is that I intend to bring forward a Mediation Bill next year to promote mediation as a viable, effective and efficient alternative to court proceedings, thereby reducing legal costs and speeding up the resolution of disputes. The Bill, which is currently being drafted, will introduce an obligation on solicitors and barristers to advise any person wishing to commence court proceedings to consider mediation as a means of resolving a dispute before embarking on such proceedings. It will also provide that a court may, following the commencement of any such proceedings, on its own initiative invite parties to consider the mediation option and suspend the proceedings to facilitate such a process.
I am at present giving consideration to the possible inclusion of an over-arching governance structure for the mediation sector in the future legislation. The matter was raised by the Joint Committee on Justice, Equality and Defence in its helpful report on the General Scheme of the Mediation Bill. Such a representative structure could, for example, play an important role in the promotion of mediation as an alternative to court proceedings and in the development of codes of practice for the sector. The Mediators' Institute has recently made a submission on mediation regulation and standards in the context of the future legislation and I shall have regard to the Institute's views when finalising the Bill for publication.
