Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy for raising the issue. Delivering family justice more effectively is a priority for me and is a major element of my Justice Plan 2022. The report of the joint Oireachtas committee, to which the Deputy referred, made 38 recommendations across a range of areas in family justice relating to the family court structure; the specialisation and training of professionals, lawyers and judges; resourcing; transparency; and the voice of the child, which is at the centre of everything that we do. Key among these recommendations was the introduction of legislation for the establishment of a dedicated and integrated family court within existing court structures. As the Deputy mentioned, it was not necessarily recommended that we have a completely different court structure, but hubs within the current structure where there would be dedicated family law sitting days. Some would sit in the same court structures and buildings that we have currently, and some would fit into others. However, they would be completely separate, with sittings on specific days. The programme for Government contains a commitment to enact a family court Bill to create a new dedicated family court or hub within the existing court structure and provide for court procedures that support a faster and less adversarial resolution of disputes in specialised centres. What is really important here is that families deserve time. They are not getting that time at the moment, because our District Courts, in particular, are so busy. There might be time at the end of what has been a very difficult and long day for a judge. Families also need continuity. It may be the case that the family turns up and a different judge is hearing the case who has not heard it before, and does not have time to go through the details of it. We also need to ensure we have specialist training so that judges who are dealing with people know and understand the different challenges that families are facing. In September 2020, Government approved the drafting of a family court Bill along the lines of the general scheme, which has been published. Drafting of the Bill is ongoing with a view to publishing it as soon as possible. The intention is that it will be published before the summer recess. We want to get the process moving as quickly as possible. The family court Bill will make provision for the establishment of a family court as divisions within the existing court structures, as I mentioned, providing for a family high court, a circuit family court, and a district family court, each dealing with family law matters as appropriate to its jurisdiction. We want to reduce, as much as possible, the number of cases going to the higher courts. The costs incurred by families are astronomical.

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