Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Senator. Last year the legal costs of the Child and Family Support Agency were ¤31 million, a very large amount of money. We need to examine these costs. It is a huge part of the budget. In that regard I welcome the move by the Minister for Justice and Equality to establish family courts. I believe the system is far too adversarial and is not in the interests of children. We need to move towards mediation and family supports rather than the current adversarial system which I do not believe serves children very well. Certainly we must examine the guardian ad litem which is in need of development and reform into a proper structure.