Noel McCarthy (Cork East, Fine Gael)
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417. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the measures his Department is taking with regard to the possible reform of the family court system; if his Department is considering measures to greatly reduce the time it takes for initial child contact cases to be taken, similar to reforms that have been implemented in other EU jurisdictions such as Denmark; if the establishment of a specialised children’s unit to provide child support independent to the judicial process is being considered; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [66829/25]

Jim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail)
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My Department is fully committed to reforming the family justice system in Ireland through implementation of the Family Justice Strategy 2022-2025. This is an ambitious programme of reform which sets out a vision for a system refocused on the needs and rights of children, who are central to many family justice matters.

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. 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.

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.

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, which all parties to proceedings will be required to have regard to. The principles include:

• In family proceedings in which the welfare of a child is involved or likely to be affected, ensuring that the best interests of the child are a primary consideration; the child is informed in an age-appropriate manner; and the views of the child are ascertained and taken into account.
• The court placing an emphasis to minimise risk to the safety of any party to family law proceedings in cases where this is a concern.
• Conducting proceedings in a manner which is user-friendly and accessible.
• Encouraging and facilitating the use of alternative dispute resolution methods, such as mediation, to resolve family law disputes without recourse to the courts, in so far as is possible and appropriate.
• Operating in an efficient manner which is likely to minimise the cost of the proceedings and encouraging active case management by the courts.