Dr. Kenneth Burns:

It is not that the mainstream media are not reporting these cases. Perhaps there needs to be more reporting of them; I am not sure. I do not have a journalistic background. I am not sure how journalists could be encouraged to cover them. In the absence of journalists covering the cases, court reporting and research make up the other part of the solution. While Dr. Coulter's research is funded, very little other research is. Some research receives small to moderate funding. It is largely independent. Money could be provided through the Irish Research Council, which could put out a call for applications. There may be other ways in which one could go about it. Dr. Coulter has been very effective in her use of the media to tell the story of the proceedings. On that level, it might be duplication to pursue this area. It may be the case that we need to find ways to help the story be told in different ways. If Dr. Coulter runs the reporting project and people like us do research, the civil society sector may feel more able to comment on the proceedings without risk of being held in contempt. That might help ensure a greater understanding of the area.

The Deputy would have to ask journalists about what would incentivise them. When these cases are reported, they are reported fairly prominently. There is a public interest in understanding how these proceedings happen and what it is like for participants to take part in them. As we have learned today, the development of specialist family law courts is only one part of a broader suite of changes that need to occur in society. Deputy Daly referred earlier to structural issues in terms of poverty, family support, prevention, adequate funding for Tusla, and support for legal aid, including developing the legal aid budget. Liberalising the in camerarule will also help to tell more of that story. It is not just about what happens in the room but also about what has happened to families to lead them to end up in that court in the first place. That is very significant. There are issues of housing, poverty and so on that we need to deal with comprehensively.