Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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I raise this issue again on the basis of its seriousness and the severe impact it has on those whom I call the victims, and indeed are the victims, of the situation that prevails in family law. I welcome that the Minister for Justice has set out her intention to bring about reform in this area and that reform is scheduled for the end of the year. However, the situation is so serious that it is ever-present in everybody's mind, especially the minds of those who are affected in a negative and hurtful way when children are forcefully deprived of the advantage of meeting one or either parent. This affects mothers to the greatest extent, but there are also some men who are deprived of meeting their children in the ordinary course of events.

Despite the law having sufficient powers at its disposal to deal with it in another way, the application of parental alienation continues because it is convenient and easy and has worked. The outcome in every case can be predicted. Once this pseudo-condition is applied to a particular case, there can be only one winner and the winner will comply with the parameters of the alleged condition. I ask that at this stage every effort be made to bring about a situation, if necessary, in which we look into the operational conditions of family law cases where there is no agreement and people find themselves at loggerheads in relation to visitation. There should be an interim arrangement whereby some independent body could look into the matter as it prevails and report quickly before the end of the year, in this particular session, in an effort to try to avert the hardship, worry and psychological damage being done to both parents and children while this continues to operate.

Alternatively, I ask whether it is possible to set aside the in camerarule so the world can observe what is happening in these kinds of situations and set about making an amendment - an emergency intervention - to ensure this particular situation is not allowed to continue. Consider the damage being done to families, especially young children who cry for their parent, be that the mother or father, and who hope this torture will come to an end. They look to adults, which we all are, to ascertain the extent to which something can be done to alleviate the pain, mental agony and torture they are experiencing and to which there is no end in sight for at this stage. While it is welcome that efforts are going to be made to deal with the situation by the end of the year, six months is a long time for children. I ask that we try to address this issue in the most serious way in order to alleviate that hardship.

Jennifer Carroll MacNeill (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
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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.

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Minister of State for her reply and obvious understanding of the situation, for which we are all grateful. My reason for bringing this matter up again is, as I said before, that the torture continues unabated. The sad part of this is the so-called expert witnesses, whose expertise has been commented upon by a Supreme Court judge in the recent past. The comment was to the effect that such witnesses have almost taken over the power of the courts and that their recommendation is unchallengeable, in many cases, while going through the system. They cannot be challenged or cross-questioned by an opposing counsel. They are given free rein to do as they wish, vindictive or otherwise, and remain unchallenged still.

Delay of any nature in a situation like this is a sad reflection on us in this House. I am not putting blame on anybody but it is a sad reflection of the system that we cannot take an emergency measure to put an end to it, even temporarily, in order to introduce the legislation that will ultimately be necessary.

I thank the Minister of State again for coming into the House and for her knowledge of the subject, as well as the Ceann Comhairle for allowing me to bring this matter up again. It is of huge importance to the families affected. As I said, it is generally women and the most appalling cases have been brought to my attention, whereby people, including children, are being punished indefinitely for being in a situation over which they have no control. It is as if there was an objective to continue with this course in order to affect them in a negative way forever. It is appalling that we cannot bring it to a halt.

Jennifer Carroll MacNeill (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
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I will say, very carefully, that I understand this pressure and the issue well as a consequence of my work as a Deputy, but also due to some background work I have done. I would be very careful to describe it in terms of gender or a particular experience, so I will remove myself from that conversation and simply speak to the process.

It is intolerable that voice of children is not accurately heard in any court process, when they have the constitutional right, which this House supported, to have their voice heard. In any family breakdown situation of any kind the most important thing is protecting the children and their well-being. The concept of the State's courts processes being used by any party in a family law dispute, whether between men and women, men and men, or women or women, against a partner to achieve his or her own personal objectives is wrong. The State has to guard and protect against that and the courts processes have to be particularly careful to guard against it. That is why it is so important to really understand section 47 and section 32 reports. If the courts are going to place weight on them, and it has been obvious in cases that they have done so, then it is important that those reports are created in a way that the courts would be happy to stand over and that we, as legislators, would be happy to stand over. For that reason, it is important that the working group established by the Department of Justice has looked at this and other issues.

I recall the former Deputy, Alan Shatter, when he was Minister for Justice and Equality, had similar concerns regarding the conduct of custody and access cases and the need to make sure that children were always prioritised at the centre of family law cases. Later this year a working group will be established to review the effectiveness of the current arrangements for hearing the voice of the child in private family law cases and we will hear a great deal more about it there.

Seán Ó Fearghaíl (Kildare South, Ceann Comhairle)
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I thank the Minister of State for being here and for dealing so authoritatively with that particular matter, which I suspect Deputy Durkan will raise again, if necessary. The second matter I have selected is from Deputy Flaherty, who wishes to discuss the appointment of a replacement nurse at St. Christopher's school in County Longford.