Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)
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51. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the steps taken to address and suspend the use of unqualified, unregistered self-appointed experts on ‘parental alienation’, and the construct of parental alienation itself in family law cases, until the report of the review of experts into its role in the family law process is completed; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35137/25]

Jim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail)
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Section 32 of the Guardianship of Infants Act 1964, as amended, permits the ordering of reports from experts in relation to the views of the child and or on any question affecting a child’s welfare in guardianship, custody or access proceedings. These reports can be ordered by the Court on its own motion or following an application by one of the parties.

It is important to note that court appointed assessors are independent individuals appointed by a judge to act as an assessor in a particular case. Under the Constitution, the judiciary is independent in the exercise of their judicial functions.

On 13 June 2024, a wide-ranging review of the role of expert reports in the family law process was published. Further to a particular recommendation contained in the review, in July 2024, the Chief Justice established a Judicial Committee to develop guidelines on the commissioning and use of welfare reports for the Court. While the Committee is independent in its work, I understand the draft guidelines are at an advanced stage.

In 2023, my predecessor published a policy paper on the issue of parental alienation, which put forward six recommendations to address the issue linked to actions within the Family Justice Strategy. They centre on progressing elements of family justice reform, building the system’s capacity to adequately hear the voice of children, and improve the knowledge, skills and experience of all those involved 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.

These recommendations, and the plans for implementation were accepted by Government and are currently being progressed by my Department.

Improved training for family justice professionals was a key recommendation in the Parental Alienation Policy Paper. As committed to in the Family Justice Strategy, a Family Justice Training Working Group was established in July 2024. The group will review existing training needs for those working within family justice and develop effective and relevant training programmes. The work of the group is ongoing.

The Judicial Council, which is independent under the Judicial Council Act, is responsible for all matters regarding training of the judiciary.

In addition to the development of welfare report guidelines, my Department also established the Voice of the Child Working Group, to review mechanisms to hear the voice of the child in family law proceedings can be continue to be heard. This group is carrying forward other recommendations contained in the review of the expert reports, including the development of voice of the child guidelines, a template and the development of a pilot project developing new ways to ensure a child’s constitutional right to be heard in certain family law proceedings continue to be upheld.