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

I thank the Deputy. Only this morning, I updated the family justice development forum on a number of actions that have been undertaken to improve the family justice system not just for parents but also for children. One of those actions related to a report I received just this week on court assessors. It looks at ensuring we have a number of actions in place in the short, medium and long terms. In the long term, it is to ensure there are correct diplomas and routes through which people must go to become a court assessor. In the short term, it is to ensure we have a panel overseen by a board so that where complaints are made, people have somewhere to go and that there is oversight of those who are conducting these types of reports. There are many other actions to ensure we support families so that people do not have to go through the court process and, above all, that the voice of the child is heard in all of this. I would be happy to update the Deputy further on this particular report.

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