Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)

I move amendment No. 5:

In page 8, to delete lines 12 and 13 and substitute the following:

"(10) Sections 6, 12 and 29(g) and sections 48 to 54 shall come into operation on such day or".

Amendment No. 5 is designed to ensure, as the text of the Bill is now being finalised, that the commencement provision is correct in regard to those sections of the Bill that will require a commencement order.

Amendments Nos. 19 to 25, inclusive, relate to the transfer of the family mediation service to the Legal Aid Board, something that was mentioned at an earlier Stage of the Bill but the amendments to provide for which we did not have an opportunity previously to table. The promotion of the mediation in the legal system is a commitment in the programme for Government. On Second Stage I said that, if possible, I would try to include in the Bill provisions for the transfer of the family mediation service to the Legal Aid Board. With the considerable assistance of the Attorney General's office, the Parliamentary Counsel, the Legal Aid Board and my own officials, it is now possible to make legislative provision for this transfer.

I want to outline briefly the background involved to this proposal. The family mediation service, as Deputies know, assists people who have decided to separate or divorce and wish to avoid going through an adversarial process to negotiate their own agreement with the help of a mediator. Couples are encouraged to consult lawyers as they progress through the mediation process to ensure the final agreement is sustainable.

The service is offered to married, unmarried couples and same-sex couples and individuals who may have a child as a result of a very brief relationship. Family mediation can also help family members to resolve disputes such as sibling care of elderly parents, inheritance and child access and custody in cases of deceased parents. The process is voluntary and each individual has to confirm his or her willingness to attend mediation meetings. Mediation leads to better outcomes for families and children and the process is less adversarial and expensive than the courts.

In so far as I have any expertise in this area, I should declare an interest in that part of my professional training was in mediation to assist in the resolution of commercial and family disputes so that people do not have to go through the court system. For many years I have been an enthusiast for mediation. I had no involvement in the State mediation service but as a family solicitor I referred a number of individuals to it in the hope that they could resolve their difficulties, particularly in cases of broken marriages, without resorting to the courts.

The Family Mediation Service is staffed by professionally trained and accredited family mediators. It was established in 1986 as a three year pilot project under the Department of Justice. As a backbencher in this House during the 1980s I recall advocating for a mediation service. It is the first publicly funded mediation scheme in Europe. In 1993, the service was transferred to the newly formed Department of Equality and Law Reform and it moved again in 1998 to the reconstituted Department of Social, Community and Family Affairs. The Family Support Agency Act 2001 came into operation in 2003 to establish the Family Support Agency as a statutory agency. The Family Mediation Service came under the umbrella of that agency as one of its functions in terms of providing a direct service to the public.

The agency is now under the aegis of the Department of Children and Youth Affairs and, in turn, the Government has decided that the service should come under the aegis of the Department of Justice and Equality. It is appropriate that it is now being taken under the wing of the Legal Aid Board, having regard to the fact that the overwhelming majority of work done by the board and its law centres pertains to family law, the need to ensure cohesion and integration of services and providing a direct link between legal aid and the alternative of engaging in mediation. We can benefit from synergies between these two services by having the Family Mediation Service under the aegis of the Legal Aid Board. Furthermore, it is ceasing to travel every time Departments are rearranged, which is not helpful in terms of developing a coherent service in the public interest.

In May 2011, I launched the Dolphin House family mediation initiative, which is a joint initiative by the Legal Aid Board, the Family Mediation Service and the Courts Service. Dolphin House houses the District Court in Dublin which deals with a substantial number of family proceedings, including child custody, guardianship, access, maintenance applications and barring and safety orders. This pilot initiative provides mediation and legal aid services within the same location, with a view to encouraging more people to avail of mediation at less cost and stress when seeking to resolve disputes relating to custody and access. Initial indications on uptake are encouraging and it is expected that it will prove to be a blueprint for such services in the future. In recent years the Legal Aid Board has taken an active role in encouraging and facilitating greater use of mediation by its own solicitors and other options to help resolve marriage disputes in general. Its chairperson, Ms Anne Colley, also acts as chair of a steering group on the Dolphin House initiative.

I pay tribute to Ms Colley for the role she played as chairperson of the Legal Aid Board. She is approaching the end of her term and because of the statutory provision she is not eligible for reappointment. She performed an important and valuable function in her role as chair of the Legal Aid Board and Members on all sides of the House should recognise that she has shown an extraordinary commitment to her role.

In course of developing the Dolphin House initiative, it has become apparent that the Family Mediation Service could operate more efficiently and effectively if it is integrated with the Legal Aid Board. The Legal Aid Board would also benefit from the exercise because it would be in a position to steer the mediation service in a way that would increase the numbers using it, reduce demand for legal aid and court time, better establish the status of legal agreements and provide economies in the use of premises through collocation with law centres or courts, where possible.

The legislative proposals I am now moving will provide for the following: the transfer of responsibility for administration of the Family Mediation Service to the Legal Aid Board; the necessary amendments of the Family Support Agency Act 2001 and the Civil Legal Aid Act 1995; and the transfer of staff and property of the Family Mediation Service to the Legal Aid Board. The House will agree that it makes good sense to reorganise the Family Mediation Service in the way that I propose.

My overall strategy on mediation will at a later stage involve publication of a comprehensive mediation and conciliation Bill to provide a framework for the better operation of alternative dispute resolution mechanisms in our legal system. Much more use could be made of alternative dispute resolution and mediation than is currently the case not only in the area of family law but across a range of issues that result in civil litigation. I am pleased to note that the Commercial Court has made a considerable contribution to encouraging contesting parties and the lawyers representing them to use mediation on occasions where lengthy litigation and substantially costs would otherwise ensue. Proposals for a mediation and conciliation Bill are at an advanced stage of preparation by my Department and I look forward to bringing it before the House when it is has been completed and approved by the Attorney General.

See this speech in context