Matt Carthy (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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424. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality if he will report on the work of the Voice of the Child working group; the timeframe in which he expects Voice of the Child guidelines will be published; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [53392/25]

Jim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail)
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In October 2024, my Department established a Voice of the Child Working Group with membership comprising both statutory and voluntary stakeholders in the family justice system. The group was set up in line with the commitment in Goal One of the Family Justice Strategy, that of “supporting children”. The group is taking forward some of the recommendations in the Review of Expert Reports, including the development of the Children’s Court Advocate Pilot Project and the development of a Voice of the Child report template and guidelines.

As part of its work, the Voice of the Child Working Group recently commissioned a consultation with children and young people to inform the development of the pilot and the report template and guidelines. The Working Group is currently considering the feedback from the consultation.

The envisaged role of a Children’s Court Advocate is to support children in their journey through private family law proceedings, providing information and ensuring their voice is heard. €3 million was allocated for reform of the process in Budget 2025 and part of that will go towards funding the pilot. A request for tender to commission a service to run the pilot concluded on 15 September 2025. Subject to the completion of the procurement process, the pilot is expected to be established by the end of the year.

The aim of the Voice of the Child Report Template and Guidelines is to ensure consistency of approach by experts in facilitating children to have their voices heard. The Working Group has made significant progress on drafting the template and guidelines and a Working Group meeting to progress this work further is scheduled for later this month. Once ready, options to test the guidelines and template, including through the Court Advocate Pilot Project, will be explored, informed by engagement with the judiciary.