Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 18 April 2023
1044. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Justice the progress in regard to the promised investigation into section 47 and similar reports currently used in family law courts; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18316/23]
View answerThe Government is determined to overhaul the operation of the Family Justice System, to ensure that we have a more efficient and user-friendly family court process that puts the family at the centre of its work.
As the Deputy is aware, on the 16th of November 2022, then Minister for Justice Helen McEntee published the first National Family Justice Strategy.
The Strategy sets out the vision for a coordinated, consistent and user-focused family justice system, which helps children and families obtain earlier, appropriate resolutions in a simpler, fairer, and more effective way. It aims to achieve this through the implementation of over 50 actions across nine goals. The Strategy is foundational in nature, recognising the many issues that currently exist within the system but outlining the steps needed to move towards a family justice system that is streamlined and user-friendly, and which supports and protects children and their families.
The Strategy also contains a number of actions which stress the importance of children and their needs in a reformed family justice system; that their voices are heard and views considered in a meaningful way.
To that end, my Department has commenced a review to examine the role of expert reports -including section 47 and 32 reports - in the family law process, the commissioning and availability of these reports and their content and use. This review is progressing with a set of recommendations to be produced by the end of this year. Later in the 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.
Part of the Strategy, and an important element of the family justice reforms, is the Family Courts Bill 2022, which was published on 1st December and has completed Second Stage in the Seanad.
The Family Courts Bill will provide for the establishment of a Family Court as divisions within the existing court structures, each dealing with family law matters as appropriate to its jurisdiction.
Both the Bill and the Strategy recognise that children and families should be at the centre of the system. These initiatives mark the beginning of the reform of how our family justice system operates, to try to make it work better for everyone engaging with it, but particularly for those who need additional supports and protections, such as domestic violence victims or vulnerable parents and children.
