Michael Healy-Rae (Kerry South, Independent)
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Question 156: To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality the number of persons that have sought mediation services for family matters from April 2011 to April 2012; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26093/12]

Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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Family mediation services fall under the auspices of the Legal Aid Board which is a statutory, independent body in accordance with the Civil Legal Aid Act, 1995. The issue raised by the Deputy is entirely a matter for the Board and I have no responsibility for the matter. However, in order to be helpful to the Deputy I have had enquiries made with the Board. The information I received is set out below.

I can inform the Deputy that a total of 4010 persons have sought mediation services for family matters from April 2011 to April 2012 through the State-funded Family Mediation Services' 16 offices countrywide. 12 of these offices offer a part-time service and 4 offer a full-time service. A breakdown of these figures is contained in the table below.

In addition to the above figures, 2,024 persons availed of services from the Family Mediation Service based in Dolphin House District Court in Dublin. The Dolphin House Project commenced on 20 March 2011 and is a unique tripartite initiative involving the Courts Service, the Legal Aid Board and the Family Mediation Service. The objective of the project is to offer an alternative to a courts' determined outcome to people lodging an application in the District Court for custody, access and maintenance. An information session on mediation is available immediately within Dolphin House and the full mediation process is also offered to parties willing to engage in it.

The Deputy should note that the Family Mediation Service does not have figures for the number of persons that sought mediation services for family matters through private mediators.