Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State and the Department for attaching importance to this issue. That deals with the issue for the future, which I welcome. Unfortunately, it does not deal with the current situation, which continues unabated. The question of parental alienation was always scoffed at by contributors in family law. It is regarded as a flawed resolution to a particular problem, which creates a further problem at the expense of mothers.

We as creators of the law have put in place the necessary procedures whereby women and children are protected. We learn from past experience again and again over the years that we should have listened to the children. Remember that? We spoke about it in this House several times. What the children are saying is a warning to us in these cases but their warnings and those of their mothers are being dismissed. This cannot continue and it will not continue. Whatever must be done will be done in the shortest possible time to release from that burden the people who are suffering because mothers and children are part of the population of this country. They are in an area where they expect to be well treated and get due process and natural justice. They are not getting it. It is slowly stripping away from them any power and voice they thought they had and it is sad that we have to make this reference. I hope to see some dramatic changes in the next few days as to what might be done to deal with the system that cannot go on.

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