Holly Cairns (Cork South West, Social Democrats)
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156. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality if he will provide his response to a UN report on parental alienation (details supplied) and its implications for government policy; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25117/23]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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The Report of the UN Special Rapporteur on Violence against Women and Girls, its Causes and Consequences, Reem Alsalem, which considers the abuse of the term parental alienation, and the deliberations of the United Nations Human Rights Council on the report in the coming months, will be fully considered as work in this area is advanced.

As the Deputy may be aware, last year, my Department undertook a public consultation on the issue of parental alienation in 2022 which allowed individuals and organisations to offer their views on the issue.

All views, opinions and experiences submitted as part of that consultation have been carefully considered.

The Department also arranged for independent research on parental alienation to be carried out.

A policy paper integrating the results of the public consultation and and the commissioned research and including recommendations to inform policy will be published by my Department in the coming days.

This marks another significant step towards reform of the Family Justice System and improving access to justice, as committed to by the Programme for Government and Justice Plan 2022.

Both the research report and the policy paper will be published on the Department’s website in the coming days.