Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

It will not be mandatory mediation. The Senator is right that there are cases where mediation is not the answer and is not the appropriate forum for people to engage. She is also right that not enough people go through mediation. Often a calm situation can become quite adversarial when it goes to the court, and it is often not the appropriate setting for people to reach an agreement. The family justice plan of action will try to divert and create better pathways for mediation for people, while acknowledging that will not work for everybody and it certainly will not be mandatory.