Ms June Tinsley:

I will finish quickly. The imposition of fees for guardians ad litemon parties will reduce the opportunity for children's voices to be heard. Fees should not be a barrier to availing of services.
While we welcome broadly many aspects of the Bill, it will fail to be fully child-centred in the absence of reform of the current courts structure. The establishment of a specific family court system was promised in the programme for Government but has not yet been advanced. The development of a specialised family court structure must be accompanied by a child and family court service mandated to provide family assessments and guardian ad litemservices or provide a link between mediation services and the courts. This would ensure judges were well informed of the complexities of cases and enable them to make key decisions in the best interests of children. Access to support services must also be more widely available. These include child contact centres, as mentioned earlier, as well as therapeutic services for parents and children and, if necessary, referral to specialist services.