Written answers

Wednesday, 23 October 2024

Department of Justice and Equality

Legislative Measures

Photo of Michael Healy-RaeMichael Healy-Rae (Kerry, Independent)
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138. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality to examine legislation regarding parental alienation and coercive control (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [43424/24]

Photo of Helen McEnteeHelen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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As the Deputy is aware, my Department is leading an ambitious programme of family justice reform set out in the first Family Justice Strategy, which I published in November 2022.

The Strategy sets out a vision for a family justice system of the future - a system that will focus on the needs and rights of children and which will assist their parents in making decisions that affect all of the family.

The Plan outlines the steps needed to create a more efficient and user-friendly family court system that puts the family and children at the centre of its work. This will be achieved through the implementation of over 50 actions across nine goals, with timelines for delivery up to the end of 2025.

A key component of the Family Justice Strategy is the development of a Family Courts Bill. The Family Courts Bill 2022, which is currently progressing through the Oireachtas, provides for the establishment of family court divisions within the existing court structures. The Bill includes a set of guiding principles for the family court system to make the best interests of the child a primary consideration in all family law proceedings, to operate in an efficient and user-friendly manner and to encourage active case management by the courts.

As the strategy was developed, my Department listened to and acknowledged the many issues and concerns about how the current system operates. The actions stress the centrality of children to many family justice matters, and the need to ensure their best interests are considered in conjunction with their constitutional rights.

The Department committed to undertake both a public consultation and independent research on the topic of parental alienation. The findings of both were analysed, and arising from this, the Department developed a policy paper on how to address the issue. The policy paper, the research and the findings from the consultation are available on my Department’s website.

Both the paper and the research report recognise that parental alienation is a highly contested and divisive concept. While there is little concrete information on the exact extent of accusations of parental alienation within the Irish courts, the research report found that, similar to other courts internationally, there appear to be increasing claims of parental alienation in family law proceedings. It appears to arise particularly in custody and access disputes and in cases where allegations of domestic, sexual and gender-based violence feature.

Despite the highly contested nature of the concept, there was consensus in the public consultation that the means to address these concerns lie in improvements to the Irish family courts and family justice system.

Reflecting this, the policy paper puts forward six recommendations to address the issue of parental alienation, which are also linked to actions within the Family Justice Strategy. One of the recommendations in the paper is to conduct a review of expert reports in the family law process.

On 13 June 2024 I published a wide-ranging review of the role of expert reports in the family law process. This comprehensive review undertaken by my Department sets out 20 recommendations for reform.

The recommendations in the Review are ambitious and seek to address all of the issues raised in the Policy Paper on Parental Alienation and in the wide-ranging consultation carried out with stakeholders as part of the Review. When implemented, these recommendations will improve the quality of expert reports in family law proceedings and will standardise practises relating to how they are commissioned and by whom.

Their implementation will ensure that our constitutional obligation to hear children’s views and that their best interests be the paramount consideration are truly fulfilled. They will contribute to a reformed family justice system which is user-focused, consistent and – most importantly – places children at its core.

Following on from the Review of the Role of Expert Reports in the Family Law Process, my Department has established a Voice of the Child Working Group to ensure children’s constitutional right to be heard in family law proceedings continues to be upheld. In addition to examining other ways in which the voice of children may be heard in family law proceedings and in alternative dispute resolution processes, the Group will also develop a Voice of the Child Report Template and work on establishing the Children’s Court Advocate Pilot Project – key recommendations in the Review.

I am pleased to have secured €3 million in Budget 2025 to support the implementation of the recommendations of the Review of Expert Reports, including the development of the Children’s Court Advocate pilot project.

Officials in my Department are also supporting a Judicial committee chaired by the Honourable Ms Justice Nuala Jackson. The Committee intends to develop a set of guidelines for the Judiciary in relation to the use of welfare reports in the private family law process.

It has been widely acknowledged in all of the consultation and engagement on parental alienation that training for all who work in the family justice system is key to improved services and outcomes for families and children. To that end, my Department has established a working group to analyse the training needs of those working across the family justice system and to develop effective and relevant training programmes.

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