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

I thank Deputy Durkan for raising this important issue. I convey the apologies of my colleague, the Minister for Justice, Deputy McEntee, who cannot be here. I am grateful to have the opportunity to provide clarity on some of the issues raised.

I must obviously clarify that the management of the courts, operational matters and logistical functions are the responsibility of the Judiciary and Courts Service. The conduct of individual cases is a matter for individual judges, who are independent in exercising their functions under the Courts Service Act 1998, and given the separation of powers in the Constitution. Neither I nor any other Member of this House can comment on an individual case or category of cases in that way.

The very first contribution I made to this House was on family law cases, the conduct of section 47 assessments in particular, and on ensuring section 47 assessors were trained in questions of coercive behaviour for parents generally and manipulative behaviours of any kind. I think that was the subject of my maiden contribution. I have seen for many years in court processes generally the difficulty that custody and access cases can bring to people's lives and can have for children especially. Understanding all the different influences that bear on this matter is an important part of that. I, like many Deputies, have worked with women and men alike who experience great difficulty in the courts system and have experienced the weaponisation, in part, of the court processes as a continuation of some other dispute or some other abuse between partners, male, female and of all different kinds. It is very important to say that.

As the Deputy is aware, the Department of Justice committed to undertake a public consultation and independent research on the topic of parental alienation as part of the Justice Plan 2022. The findings of both were analysed and arising from this, officials from the Department developed a policy paper on how to address the issue. Both the research report and the policy paper have now been published on the Department's website. Both recognise that parental alienation is a highly contested and divisive concept. There is little concrete information on the exact extent of accusations.

The Deputy stated we should remove the in camera rule. There is, however, a major issue of privacy for individuals, families and, most important, children when something of that nature is done. The Department of Justice would say the question of parental alienation appears to arise in custody and access disputes in particular and also in cases where allegations of domestic, sexual and gender-based violence feature. That is why I say that, irrespective of the terms, manipulative behaviours of any kind are what are of concern, as is the weaponisation by any party of a family law process that would harm children or continue to harm children or parents in any way. That is why I suggested section 47 assessors, and any other assessors used by the courts, must be trained and equipped to spot any such behaviours that can create particular difficulties.

The Department of Justice is leading an ambitious programme of family justice reform, including the publication of the Family Justice Strategy 2022-2025 and the Family Courts Bill 2022. The strategy puts children at the centre of the system and emphasises, among other things, the need to ensure they are listened to and heard and their views given due regard, in line with their constitutional rights. The strategy contains an action, under the goal of supporting children, to examine the role of expert reports, including, as I said, section 47 and section 32 reports in the family law process. This is absolutely critical. That action has been prioritised and will look at the commissioning and availability of these reports, their content and use, the way in which they are brought about and the registration and other requirements of the various professionals providing these services. It is to be published at the end of this year, which is not far off at this point, although I appreciate we would all like things done much more quickly.

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