Jennifer Carroll MacNeill (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. This was the first topic I spoke on in the Dáil. I refer to the importance of having assessors trained in coercive control and other coercive behaviours regarding section 47 reports. I also said they should have the capacity to understand manipulation, where it exists. The Oireachtas Joint Committee on Justice has just considered these points and broader questions concerning enforcement of custody and access. I refer in particular to the insidious use of our State's court structure to further coercive or manipulating behaviour of another parent, of either gender, and the difficult nature of protecting children in these circumstances. Some steps in this regard have been taken, which are welcome, but these developments need to go much further in the new family law system to protect against the use of coercive and manipulative behaviours throughout the family court structure.

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