Ms Julie Ahern:

In addressing the role of children in proceedings, I will focus on two key issues. First, I will talk about the voice of the child in family law proceedings and, second, I am comment on the provision of information to children and families.

The right the child to be heard is one of the fundamental values of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. The child-friendly justice guidelines Ms Brady mentioned also provide that judges should respect the views of children and their right to be heard in all matters affecting them. Importantly, they also recommend that children should be consulted about the manner in which they would like to be heard. It should not just be assumed that children should be heard in one particular manner. Rather, children should be asked how they would like to have their voices heard. The guidelines also provide that children should not be presumed to be unable to give their views based solely on their age. In fact, we should look at children's level of maturity and understanding. Everyone in the room will know two 12 year olds who would be very different in their understanding of what is going on in life and in any particular situation. It is important that we look at the individual child and not make a blanket assumption of someone's capacity based on their age.

Dr. O'Mahony has very kindly outlined the legal position on hearing the voices of children. We want to highlight the Children and Family Relationships Act 2015. For the first time, this Act placed an obligation on judges to hear the views of children when determining the best interests of the child. It is very important to remember that the Act is not prescriptive about the way in which children's voices are to be heard. There are a variety of ways in which children's voices are currently heard and can be heard. This can include judges hearing them in chambers, hearing them in open court if appropriate, and if needs be bringing in an expert to help the court elicit children's views. We note that in his recent report as special rapporteur on child protection Dr. Geoffrey Shannon recommended the development of guidelines on how judges can interact with children and young people in family law cases.

On our legal information line, I hear directly from children, young people and their families who feel their views are not being adequately heard in the family law system. I get calls from children and from mothers and fathers who feel the courts are not listening to what children have to say when they come into court. Similar to the Law Society of Ireland, the Children's Rights Alliance is very concerned about some of the provisions of the regulations on child's views experts. In particular, we are very concerned that the regulations place a burden on families to pay for the experts to hear the views of children. As this plays out, families who can afford to employ a child's views expert will have their voices heard. Children whose families cannot afford it will not. The right of the child will be dependent on their parents' ability to pay. We echo the view of the Law Society to the effect that the cap placed on the number of child's views experts is incredibly low. In very complex cases, no experts are willing to take on the role. We are extremely concerned about this because children in the most vulnerable situations may not have their right to be heard vindicated.

The second point I wish to make relates to information provided to children and families. I hear every day from children and families that they do not understand the nature of the process in family law courts. They do not know what to expect or what is going on. They want information about their rights, how to go into the court and how to navigate the process. They want basic information to assist them in going into what is a really unfamiliar and scary environment, particularly for a child or a young person who has never walked into a courtroom before. The Council of Europe’s guidelines on child-friendly justice have been very helpful in setting out what information should be provided to children. This should include information on their rights, the system and how it works, what their role will be and the available support mechanisms. The last point in particular is very important. If children, young people and families are supported, they will hopefully find the process a lot easier to navigate and much less traumatic.

Consideration could be given to providing information to children and families in a format that is child-friendly and adapted to the needs of the families and the age and maturity of the child. Consideration should also be given to employing digital technology and making the information widely accessible. While there is some very good information out there, I find that families and particularly children want to get information from someone they know and trust. Alternatively, they look online. A quick Google search for information about how the family law process works produces results that are very difficult to understand. As someone working in the area even I wonder what it is meant to mean. It is very important that it is very accessible and that people can find it in their own right. It must also be there for people who work with families to guide them through the process.

Another method of providing support is the employment of specialist child court liaison officers. This person would be an official who children and families could go to for information. He or she would be there to support them in the really difficult process of going through the family law courts. We recommend considering this as part of any proposed change to the family law system. We recommend in particular the prioritisation of information for children and young people.