Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 14 May 2026
40. Deputy Rose Conway-Walsh asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the timeline for when legislation will be introduced to bring transparency, accountability and fairness into the family courts, prioritising children's safety; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35796/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe administration of justice in family courts is, in the first instance, a matter for the Judiciary, supported by the Courts Service who are dedicated to providing a fair and impartial service to all litigants.
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. Many key actions have been completed and a final report on the implementation of Strategy is in development.
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 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 the courts, legal practitioners and parties to family law proceedings will be required to have regard to.
The principles include, but are not limited to:
• Ensuring that the best interests of the child are a primary consideration in the conduct of the proceedings where the welfare of a child is involved or likely to be affected; 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.
Ensuring transparency and promoting a greater understanding of the family law system is crucial 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. Officials from my Department are currently examining the findings and recommendations of the report in the context of developing policy proposals for reform. Officials are also examining how family court proceedings operate in other jurisdictions, to see what can be learned from them.
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. Currently there is no comprehensive system in Ireland for regularly and systematically reporting on private family law proceedings. 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.
The completion of other actions in the Family Justice Strategy have also contributed to increased transparency in how the system operates such as the Courts Service family law information hub, which has been developed over the lifetime of the Strategy. The hub aims to help people better understand the different elements of family law. The information is displayed in plain language and in a user-friendly way. It includes information across all family law court topics and a 360 virtual tour to help reduce anxiety for people attending court.
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 is taking forward some of the recommendations in the Review of Expert Reports, published by Department in June 2024, including the development of a Children’s Court Advocate Pilot Project and the development of a Voice of the Child Report Template and Guidelines.
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. The Children’s Court Advocate Pilot is expected to commence later 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.
The aim of the Voice of the Child Report Template and Guidelines is to ensure consistency of approach by experts in supporting children to have their voices heard, and to provide transparency in the voice of the child report process. The Working Group has made significant progress on drafting the template and guidelines and they are expected to be published in the coming months.
On 16th April 2026, I welcomed the publication of Judicial Guidelines on the Commissioning, Preparation, Content and Usage of Expert Reports in Family Law Proceedings. Development of the guidelines was a key recommendation of the Review of the Role of Expert Reports in the Family Law Process. The guidelines provide transparency in the commissioning, content, preparation and use of expert reports in family law proceedings.
Under it’s ‘supporting children’ goal, the Strategy also includes an action to ‘Develop and deliver child friendly information to explain family justice processes to children, enabling them to understand the nature of the decisions that can be made concerning them and how their voice can contribute to these decisions and processes.' In January 2025, my officials established a multi-disciplinary project team within the Department to develop innovative, child-friendly video resources and multimedia assets to support children who are navigating family justice processes.
The content and format of the videos were informed by expert input from Departmental agencies, key stakeholder groups, NGOs and service providers, and the Departments of Education and Youth and Children, Disability and Equality. Research was also commissioned by my department, including a bespoke consultation with children who have experienced family separation which provided valuable insights to guide the development of the resources. In developing the resources, it has been critical to get the views of young people. The resources are aimed at children aged 8-12 years and parental involvement and accessibility concerns have been considered in their development. The resources were launched on 5th May 2026 and are hosted a dedicated landing page at gov.ie/FamilyChanges.
