Josepha Madigan (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Regarding amendment No. 5, I wish to bring to the attention of the House, in case anyone is not aware of it, that I have written a book on mediation. I am sorry to refer to my own book but mediation is a very important topic in the context of abuse. As a mediator over many years, I know that screening in mediation is very important, particularly when it comes to domestic abuse. As we all know, there are different types of abuse: physical, sexual, emotional, social, economic and psychological, as well as harassment and other forms of abuse. I will not go into great detail on this. Suffice it to say that in my experience as a mediator, I believe one must err on the side of extreme caution in mediating any type of case in which domestic violence is alleged. I have not, and would not, nor would many of the mediators who are trained well in Ireland today, especially under the auspices of the Mediators Institute of Ireland, of which I was previously a member, in any circumstances mediate a case in which there are domestic violence issues, as I have outlined in my book, Appropriate Dispute Resolution in Ireland, published by Jordan Publishing in 2012. It is there for anyone to read. I am conscious of what the Minister has said about this. We must have faith in our mediators and the screening they carry out. I would certainly not advocate mediation in a case of this nature.

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