Ruth Coppinger (Dublin West, Solidarity)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

825. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the projected timeline for the enactment of the Family Courts Act 2024; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [47866/25]

Jim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

The Family Courts Act 2024 is a key component of my Department's Family Justice Strategy and contains a number of provisions designed to make the family court process more user-friendly and less costly.

The Act provides for the establishment of family court divisions within the existing court structures, namely a Family High Court, a Family Circuit Court and a Family District Court, each dealing with family law matters as appropriate to its jurisdiction. Each of these Family Courts will have judges with appropriate specialist knowledge assigned to them on a full-time basis, and the Act also provides for ongoing professional training in the area of family law.

Improving judicial expertise and training in family law matters as well as streamlining family law proceedings as set out throughout the Act, will ultimately contribute to reducing costs for the user.

The Act 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 which is likely to minimise the cost of the proceedings, and to encourage active case management by the courts. At the same time, the guiding principles further provide that an emphasis should be placed by the court to minimise risk to the safety of any party to family law proceedings in cases where this is a concern.

The Act will also provide for a greater proportion of non-contentious family law matters including divorce and judicial separation to be dealt with at District Court level. This will further minimise costs and provide local access to the court system, enabling people to choose the simplest pathway through the family justice system where the circumstances of the case make it appropriate to do so.

Commencing the Family Courts Act 2024 is a priority for Government and an implementation team has been established within my Department. As committed to in the Programme for Government, I intend to publish an implementation plan for a new Family Court System by the end of January 2026.