Tommy Broughan (Dublin North East, Independent)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

327. To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality if she will report on the progress of the pilot project of mediation in family law matters for families in Dolphin House; her plans to roll this out on a more permanent basis and in other areas. [10284/15]

Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

The Dolphin House mediation initiative commenced on 21 March 2011 and so has been in operation for four years. The project was originally put in place as a pilot for a 12 month period and a comprehensive review of the service was undertaken in March 2012 incorporating an independent evaluation which was submitted to my predecessor.

This review concluded that

- There are clear cost benefits arising from the initiative and these benefits would be increased significantly if the initiative were extended.

- There are considerable individual, system and societal benefits to this approach.

- Based on international experience this approach has the potential to have a significant impact for people involved in family disputes

- Benefits extend beyond the parties to the dispute, notably to children, families and society as a whole.

- It also has the potential to impact significantly on the administration of justice in family law cases. It can impact on the number of cases going through the courts system.

- It has the real potential to speed up the resolution of disputes and to do so more cheaply than through the courts process.

Following consideration of the review my predecessor determined that the Dolphin House mediation service should be placed on a permanent footing and sanction was granted in due course to appoint 4 full time staff (8 part time positions). Following interviews held in May 2014 by the Legal Aid Board the permanent mediator positions were filled.

To date there have been a total of 1,389 agreements reached between couples attending mediation. Agreements have included parenting plans (custody and access arrangements) as well as agreements on guardianship and financial matters. Additional pilot projects have been developed in other courts around the country - in Limerick and Cork one day each week as well as in Clonmel and Nenagh when the family court is sitting and in Naas for two days each week.

I very much welcome the Legal Aid Board's pro-active approach to offering integrated mediation services in cooperation with the Courts Service. I am also pleased to note that the Board’s new Corporate Plan for the period 2015 – 2017 contains commitments to continue to develop more cost effective methods of service delivery, including the full exploitation of the potential to utilise non-legal means of resolving disputes. This approach is fully consistent with Government policy to, where possible, utilise mediation for resolving disputes that would otherwise end up being addressed through litigation which is more costly and, in the case of family law disputes, frequently much more traumatic for the parties involved.