Mattie McGrath (Tipperary, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I too welcome any efforts made to reform the family law courts. Courthouses like those in Clonmel, Tipperary and Nenagh do not have the facilities for separation of families from criminal law, so they are all in the one building. That does not make for good, pleasant or easy management for anybody, but most importantly for the family.

The Minister will say I am always critical but I welcome that the Clonmel Garda station, which was bundled, along with one I Cork I think, with the new child and family courts has been unbundled and we are making some progress in Clonmel. The town has been waiting for a Garda station for 70 years. It was first raised here by Séan Treacy, God rest him, 60 years ago. The Clonmel station was bundled in with family law courts, but they are two different items altogether. There is no comparison. Direct funding to build and deliver and people to do that can be got for Garda stations but not for court buildings. They are not the same people. The architectural ambience and everything else is different. That was a welcome development.

There are lots of issues in the family courts. The fact that children are being separated and children go missing in State care must, surely to God, cost the Minister sleepless nights. The Minister, Deputy O’Gorman, says Tusla and its actions do not cause him any loss of sleep. We had a case in Donegal last week where a mother was acquitted by a jury after a ten-week trial. She was acquitted of accusations she was sexually abusing her child. The children were taken and separated. It went on for ten weeks and has been going on for years. She had lived in a terribly violent relationship and then became victimised by the State. Fortunately, a jury, which is the ultimate in our courts – trial by your peers – cleared this woman, but what about the damage done to the children?

Ongoing damage is being done to children across the State from being taken into care. I met foster parents here last week and I support them as well but all is not well with the family law courts. While NGOs of all shapes and sizes are getting more than €6 billion in funding, the Minister, Deputy O'Gorman, defunded the Child Law Project, the only watchdog adjudicating on what was going on in family law. He did not like its reports because they were rightly critical of what is going on in the children's courts and with Tusla so he defunded the group. How could he be so biased in his opinion? I would love to be able to say I do not have a sleepless night when one child goes missing, never mind a large number of children in State care. We saw the case in Cork when the university did the investigation. Children in State care were being trafficked and used in brothels. As a grandparent of young children, it is sickening and revolting. There are many issues that need to be sorted and this Bill does not address many of them. It is time that we did. While I know it is not in the Bill, I plead that funding be restored to the one watchdog that was safeguarding children.

See this speech in context