Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 28 April 2026
869. Deputy John McGuinness asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration if he has given consideration to much-needed reform of the family court system, and the child-centred decisions; and his views on specific policy proposals (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30886/26]
View answerMy 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. Many key actions have been completed and a report on the implementation of Strategy is in development.
In relation to the in camera rule, ensuring transparency and promoting a greater understanding of the family law system is critical to maintaining and building trust in it. At the same time, those who seek the assistance of the Courts in resolving their family justice disputes need to be assured that their privacy, and that of their children, will be maintained. In recognising the need for a balance between these two positions, the Family Justice Strategy committed to undertaking a review the operation of the in-camera rule in family law proceedings.
An independent research report was subsequently published on the Operation of the In Camera Rule in Family Law Proceedings in May 2025. The extensive report contains 21 detailed recommendations. Officials from my Department are currently examining the findings and recommendations of the report in the context of developing policy proposals for reform.
Following the findings of the report, I commissioned the Child Law Project, led by Dr Carol Coulter to deliver the Private Family Law Reporting Project. The Project will be delivered over three years and is expected to attend a representative sample of cases across different jurisdictions and geographical areas, reflecting the breadth of family law cases, jurisdictional issues, and urban and rural areas. The overall aim of the Project is to provide transparency for the public, while ensuring that children’s and parents’ rights to privacy are upheld. It will also increase awareness and understanding of family law proceedings, while building confidence and trust in the judicial determination of such disputes.
In relation to expert reports, in June 2024, my Department published a wide-ranging Review of the Role of Expert Reports in the Family Law Process, as committed to in the Family Justice Strategy. 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. Significant progress has been made in advancing these recommendations:
• The Chief Justice established a Judicial Committee on Welfare Report Guidelines, chaired by the Honourable Ms Justice Nuala Jackson of the High Court, to develop guidelines on the commissioning, content, and use of welfare reports. The guidelines were published on 16 April 2026.
• A Voice of the Child Working Group is currently drafting the voice of the child report template and guidelines, which are expected to be published in the coming months.
• Officials in the Department are currently undertaking a preliminary scoping exercise to progress work on establishing a panel of family law assessors.
• The Children’s Court Advocate Pilot Project will commence this year, initially being rolled out in Waterford and Clonmel, and will apply to all applications for guardianship, custody, and/or access. The service will be free of charge for children and their families. A comprehensive evaluation will run alongside the pilot to assess its effectiveness in achieving its aim and whether the project should be rolled out nationally.
In relation to DSGBV and training, this Government is committed to ensuring that victims of domestic, sexual and gender-based violence including coercive control are supported, believed, and treated with dignity throughout their engagement with the entire justice system. The Department's Third National Strategy on Domestic, Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (DSGBV) which builds on the reforms already introduced aims to bring about changes in attitudes and in systems to ensure there is zero tolerance in our society for DSGBV and that all victims of these crimes have access to the highest standard of supports and services.
In June of last year, the 2025-2026 Implementation Plan for the strategy was launched. Priority areas include a comprehensive set of training actions to upskill frontline professionals across the health and social care sector, DSGBV services, the judiciary, courts and other justice agencies, including An Garda Síochána. The Implementation Plan also outlines a programme of mandatory DSGBV training for those working in Family Law, including technical skills and further specialist training depending on the role.
The Family Justice Strategy also addresses training. It commits to establishing a Working Group to review existing training needs for those working within family justice and to develop effective and relevant training programmes. This Working Group was established in July 2024, and it comprises membership from key government departments, state agencies and legal professional bodies. The Group examined minimum training standards and proposed a recommended training approach. The recommendations were discussed at the Family Justice Development Forum in January this year and work on implementation has commenced.
The Family Courts Act 2024 is another key component of my Department's Family Justice Strategy and contains a number of provisions designed to make the family court process more focussed on the needs of children as well as user-friendly, safer and less costly. On 22 April 2026, I published the Implementation Plan for the Family Courts Act 2024 that will result in some of the most significant reforms of the family justice system in the history of the state.
The Act provides for the establishment of family courts as 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. Judges who have specialist training or experience in dealing with family law matters will be assigned to the Family Court divisions on a full-time basis, providing for improved levels of judicial expertise in family law matters as well as the streamlining of proceedings.
The Act includes a set of guiding principles for the family court system. which all parties to proceedings will be required to have regard to. The courts, legal practitioners and parties to family law proceedings will be required to have regard to these principles.
The principles include, but are not limited to:
• 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 in the conduct of the proceedings; the child is informed in an age-appropriate manner about the proceedings; and the views of the child are ascertained and taken into account having regard to the age and maturity of the child.
• The court placing an emphasis to minimise risk to the safety of any party to family law proceedings, including of a child to whom the proceedings relate, in cases where this is a concern.
• Conducting proceedings in a manner which is user-friendly, accessible, efficient and minimises conflict between the parties as far as possible.
In line with these guiding principles, key changes being introduced by the Act will include an applicant or respondent being restricted from personally cross examining a child unless the Court considers it in the interests of justice to do so. The Act also puts in place safeguards for the personal cross-examination of the other party by an applicant or respondent, making the examination subject to the court’s direction. Instead, provision is made for a legal representative to conduct the cross examination, and legal aid can be provided.
