Gary Gannon (Dublin Central, Social Democrats)
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1148. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the way his Department is ensuring that the proposed reforms on parental alienation under the family justice strategy do not result in children’s expressed wishes being dismissed in cases where they resist contact due to legitimate concerns. [11607/25]

Barry Ward (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
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1173. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the position regarding any research his Department has carried out into the merits of making parental alienation a legal offence; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12008/25]

Jim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 1148 and 1173 together.

Ireland’s first Family Justice Strategy was published in November 2022. This ambitious Strategy outlines the steps needed to create a more efficient and user-friendly family justice 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.

One of the actions in the Strategy was to consider the outcome of both a public consultation and independent research on the topic of parental alienation, completed in 2022, and develop proposals for reform. The findings of both the research and the public consultation were analysed, and arising from this, Departmental officials developed a policy paper on how to address the issue. The policy paper, the research and the findings from the consultation are available on the Department’s website.

Both the paper and the 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 appears 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 parental alienation 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.

The recommendations centre on progressing elements of family justice reform, building the system’s capacity to adequately hear the voice of children, and improving the knowledge, skills and experience of all those involve, in order to make the best determinations in relation to each case on its own merits. This is especially important in high-conflict cases, in which allegations of parental alienation can often arise.

The primary way in which children’s views are heard in private family law and their welfare considered is through the use of expert reports. A wide-ranging review into the role of these reports in the family law process was published in June 2024, fulfilling one of the recommendations of the policy paper on parental alienation.

The Review sets out 20 ambitious recommendations for reform, the implementation of which will, amongst other things, promote consistency and common standards in hearing the voice of the child and safeguarding their best interests. They include:

• produce guidelines on the commissioning, content and use of expert reports;
• establish a panel of assessors with a structure to oversee its management;
• establish the role of Children’s Court Advocate, initially on a pilot basis, to assist children in having their voice heard in family law proceedings.