Mick Wallace (Wexford, Independent) | Oireachtas source

My amendment No. 35 reads:

In page 16, to delete lines 33 to 37, and in page 17, to delete lines 1 to 5 and substitute the following:“(b) where the mediation took place, the content of a report to the court, if any, by a mediator shall be limited to a neutral summary of the outcome of the mediation.”

We have tossed around the importance of confidentiality. The requirement in the Bill to produce a report which outlines any issues raised, or for the mediator to give an opinion on the engagement of the parties, would breach this confidentiality. This section is of great concern to the Mediators' Institute of Ireland and the Law Society, and was highlighted in the 2010 report of the Law Reform Commission. In that report, the Law Reform Commission concluded that mediators' reports, if any, should be narrowly restricted and might have some role in assisting a court in determining a successful litigant's cost application after litigation, subsequent to an inconclusive mediation but not otherwise. In paragraph 4.125 of the report, the commission concluded that:

[T]he Commission considers that the content of mediators' or conciliators' reports to the Court should be narrowly restricted. Confidentiality during a mediation session is essential to protect the integrity of the process. For the mediation or conciliation to be effective, a mediator or conciliator must have the trust of all participants, both in joint sessions and in private caucuses. Requiring mediators or conciliators to report on the conduct of the parties to the Court imperils the confidentiality of the process.