Jim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail)
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I thank all of our guests for attending. I wish to make them aware of the process involved here. We are going to produce a report but, obviously, this is an area of some complexity, which is why we need outside expertise to assist us in preparing that report. There is a lot of agreement between the witnesses here on some fundamental areas. However, it is also worth pointing out that family law is legitimately regarded as different to the determination and resolution of other disputes. Other disputes which are before the courts can affect one part of a person's rights or life but family law disputes seem to involve orders being made by the courts which fundamentally affect the personal relationships that somebody has in their lives. It is of unique importance in terms of the consequences that a family law proceeding will have on people and on the family involved.

I will begin by asking a few questions about Article 42A of the Constitution and its implementation through the Child and Family Relationships Act. Dr. O'Mahony stated that everyone agrees that we must try to ascertain the views of the child. Perhaps Mr. Walsh or Ms Coughlan, as practitioners can assist here, but in practical terms, has that increased the amount of work in a family law case because now one must ascertain the views of every child? How is it done, practically?