Peter Fitzpatrick (Louth, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the opportunity to participate in this debate. The Bill before us is very important legislation and will bring many real benefits to people who find themselves in dispute. The main purpose of the Bill is to encourage and promote settlement of civil disputes by way of mediation as opposed to the very costly litigation process. It will do this through a number of actions, including specifying the principles that are applicable to mediation and specifying arrangements for mediation that can be used as an alternative to costly litigation. It will also provide for the publication of a code of practice which mediators may subscribe to and for the recognition of a body to be known as the Mediation Council of Ireland. Finally, there is provision for parties to family law to attend mediation information sessions. One of the real benefits this Bill will bring is that if used early enough, it can avoid costly litigation which in many cases places undue financial hardship on those involved.

One of the challenges of getting mediation more openly available will be making people more aware that it will be available. I know that from dealing with many very contentious issues in my constituency work that mediation would be a difficult process for those involved. The biggest challenge this legislation will face will be to get those affected to accept mediation as a means of settling their differences. In many cases the people involved are hell-bent on going the legal route and will spend vast sums of money on legal advice and representation. We need to change this mindset and also that of the legal profession. I am happy that this Bill will establish obligations for solicitors to advise their clients to consider mediation and also provide information about mediation services. Likewise similar obligations will also be extended to barristers where they are taking proceedings on behalf of a client who is not represented by a solicitor. I will be interested in seeing how this will work when enacted. I have fears that the legal profession will not embrace this as we would hope but I will adopt a wait and see policy. As I have stated, the biggest challenge will be raising awareness and acceptance that mediation is available. On that matter, I am pleased to see that the courts will be allowed to invite opposing parties to consider mediation and provide them with valuable information about the benefits of the mediation process.

The provisions of the Bill will allow the mediation to avail of civil proceedings with certain exceptions. Included in these exceptions are proceedings under the Arbitration Act, disputes arising within an employment context, matters under tax and customs legislation, proceedings under the Child Care Act and proceedings under the Domestic Violence Act. The Bill will also allow the Minister to publish or approve a code of practice for the conduct of the mediator.

It is proposed that prior to commencement of mediation, a mediator must provide all parties with a copy of any code of practice to which he or she subscribes. I have a major problem in this regard as the Bill does not appear to require mediators to subscribe to a code of practice. How will this work if a mediator does not subscribe to a code of practice? Surely this will lead to problems and create unnecessary problems for all concerned. As far as I am concerned, any person acting as a mediator must subscribe to a code of practice and this must be mandatory in all cases. I would prefer to see this included in the Bill. There is no point in the Minister publishing a code of practice for the conduct of mediators only for mediators not to be obliged to follow them. It would make a mockery of the legislation and leave it open to abuse.

Section 12 proposes the establishment of the Mediation Council of Ireland and the setting out of minimum standards to which the council must adhere. The council will be required to submit a report to the Minister by the end of June each year in which it will report on its performance and activities during the preceding year. This will ensure the performance of the council will be open to scrutiny each year. I have listened to many representations from concerned groups about this Bill. One such group, Women's Aid, has made some very valid points and I welcome them. They include that a provision to exclude from the mediation process family law cases where domestic violence is alleged to have taken place. It also proposes that a provision be included in section 8 that, prior to commencing mediation, a mediator make separate enquires of each party as to whether there has been domestic violence in the relationship to assess if the case is suitable for mediation. It also states that solicitors, barristers and mediators should be trained in recognising domestic violence.

I very much welcome the passage of this Bill through the House. There are enormous benefits attached to it. It will provide significant savings to those involved in legal disputes and should improve their experience of the legal process. I want to put on record that I, too, share the concerns of Women's Aid and hope and expect that its concerns can be addressed satisfactorily. I also hope my concerns about mediators and the code of practice are addressed. We cannot have a situation where a code of practice exists and yet the mediators are not required to subscribe to it. It must be mandatory for mediators to subscribe to an approved code of practice. I welcome this Bill and look forward to seeing it enacted in due course.

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