Mr. Frank McGlynn:

If someone refuses to go to mediation, he or she should be denied legal aid. That is one way to deal with it, certainly. It could be made a mandatory condition of access to court. We have suggested that before someone gets into court, he or she could be required to have a document signed by both parties and a mediator stating they entered into meaningful negotiations at mediation. This model works in labour disputes. One cannot get into the Labour Court unless one has gone through what used to be called the conciliation service. One must be seen to have first gone through that service, otherwise one will not have access. We think we need to restrict access to the courts.