Ms Rachel Baldwin:

With regard to what Mr. Ó hUallacháin said on consistency, it is better if a judge has been dealing with a case for a period of time because sometimes the difficulty with a case is the view of the court and the judges regarding what they will or will not do. There are circumstances where a court might adjourn a matter to allow a child to come in to convey his or her views and wishes but when it comes about the particular judge on the particular day may not necessarily want to do it or to put the child in that position. It depends and there is a lack of training and consistency on this.

To return to the question on section 32 reports, as Dr. Coulter pointed out, the guardian ad litemin the public law system looks at the views of child and his or her and welfare but they might not correspond with each other. This is the difficulty we have with the section 32 reports. Essentially, there are two reports. There is one with the views and wishes of the child and another on the child's welfare. The regulations themselves just deal with the voice of the child and this does not take in the overall issue.

With regard to the question on why the fees might not be proper, it depends on the professionals and how they conduct themselves. They might meet children with the mother or the father or, depending on the age of the child, they might meet the children by themselves, obviously brought by a parent. They could do play therapy or speak to them directly, depending on the age. Usually there are quite a few meetings and then the report must be written for the court. Deputy Daly asked about questioning or appealing the reports. If either or both sides are not happy with the report or have certain questions the professionals can be called to give evidence on this and to be cross-examined. If there is something with which people are not happy or if something was not said the professionals can be asked their views, for example, on whether they would have a different view if a parent moved closer. The professionals can be questioned and, as Mr. Ó hUallacháin stated, the reports can be appealed.

With regard to delays, the Act brings the views of the child into the case and this in itself will lead to delays because a case might be adjourned on the first day so the child can come in. A case might also be adjourned to order a report. These will cause delays but they are necessary delays. Unless there is an overarching question about domestic violence a majority of judges will order an interim order on access. This leads to delays but, in fairness to the courts, they try to manage it. A case might be adjourned for a week for mention. There might be three assessors with their various fees and information on how long they can do it and when they can start. The judge will then put back the case for a couple of weeks or months to see whether the report has been done and when it has been done a hearing date will be set. Judges micromanage. This is from their own point of view without necessarily having training behind it. They are trying to do their best with what they have.