Press release
Minister McEntee hosts first meeting of Family Justice Development Forum
Published on
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Published on
Last updated on
Minister for Justice Helen McEntee today hosted the first meeting of the Family Justice Development Forum, a key forum as part of the Minister’s plan to overhaul the Family Justice System and place the needs of families and children at its centre.
At the meeting, Minister McEntee updated the Forum on the implementation of actions in the Family Justice Strategy 2022-2025.
This includes a review of enforcement of Child Maintenance Orders, which is at an advanced stage and expected to be completed in the coming months.
The Minister also noted the publication of a policy paper on parental alienation in recent months which has reinforced the need for improvements to the Irish family courts and family justice system, already underway through the Strategy.
The Forum also heard that the Department of Justice will shortly begin scoping work on research to examine the in-camera rule and to review its current operation, particularly around research and reporting of family law cases.
Minister McEntee said:
“Unfortunately, the justice system was not built with the needs of families and children going through extremely difficult times in their lives in mind.
“There are so many people in this area doing superb work, and we all want to build a better family justice system together.
“What I want to achieve is a family justice system with the needs of families and children at its centre. At the moment, the system too often makes difficult moments even tougher.
“This can be through archaic structures, or cases being put off too easily in areas of the country where there are no dedicated family courts. And it can also be caused by court buildings and facilities which simply are not suitable for hearing family law cases.
“Of course, protecting the vulnerable children and parents and those who are survivors of Domestic and Gender Based Violence is at the very core of our family justice reform programme, particularly how the civil, family and criminal law interact in many of these awful cases.
“With the Family Justice Strategy and the Family Courts Bill 2022, I am setting out a vision for a family justice system of the future – one that focuses on the needs and rights of children.
“One that makes it easier for vulnerable families and parents to get support they need to make informed decisions. This is crucial to ensuring fair and equal access to justice.”
Co-facilitated by the Children’s Rights Alliance, the Forum drew upon the experience and expertise of those present to offer input on identifying ways to provide child-friendly information about complex family law matters.
A key action of the Family Justice Strategy is to provide timely information in a clear, accessible manner to children involved in family law cases.
The provision of clear, understandable information is a key building block to children’s participation and voice being heard. This is a Strategy action the department will lead on and commence in the autumn.
The Minister said that she expects actions on stakeholder communications about family justice and work on improving data sharing across the family justice sector will also progress this year.
The three-year Family Justice Strategy contains nine goals and over 50 actions that lay the foundation for a reformed, user-friendly and child-centred family justice system. The Strategy will ensure children are at the centre of the family justice system and that their voices are a central part of the process.
Through the implementation of the 9 goals and 50 actions in this Strategy, Minister McEntee envisages that:
Minister McEntee added:
“Ensuring the Courts are properly resourced is a priority for me and for Government – earlier this year, we announced a historic increase in judicial resources, with 24 additional judges appointed this year and a further tranche of 20 to be appointed following the implementation of reforms and efficiencies in the Courts.
“We are also investing in capital projects in the Justice Sector – this will include the construction of a purpose-built Family law Court complex at Hammond Lane.
“It will be built with the specific needs of family law users in mind. This is the principle at the centre of the Family Justice Strategy.
“This Forum I hosted in the Department of Justice today is not only an opportunity to update stakeholders, but to also to gather feedback and collaborate on particular pieces of work – the knowledge, experience, ideas and passion of those working at the frontline will be essential to ensuring the user is kept at the heart of our reforms.
“The Family Justice Implementation Group will give appropriate consideration to the issues we discuss at this and all of the Forum meetings.”
Implementation of the Strategy is being led by the Family Justice Implementation Group (FJIG). A key action is the establishment of a Family Justice Development Forum, led by the Minister, to facilitate engagement with the range of stakeholders in the system.
At the Forum, representatives of NGOs, advocacy groups and other stakeholders had the opportunity to engage directly with the Minister and members of the FJIG to discuss key issues arising in the area of family justice.
During the Forum, Minister McEntee took part in a panel discussion and Q&A with Joan Crawford, CEO of the Legal Aid Board, Angela Denning, CEO of the Courts Service, and His Honour Judge Paul Kelly, President of the District Court.
The panel was also joined by FJIG members from the Department of Justice and the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth.
The next Family Justice Forum meeting is scheduled to take place in December 2023.
Minister McEntee published the first Family Justice Strategy in November 2022.
Implementation of the strategy is being led by the Family Justice Implementation Group which comprises representatives of the Courts Service, the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, the Legal Aid Board, the Judiciary, and the County Registrars Association.
The Strategy committed to the establishment of the Family Justice Development Forum, chaired by the Minister, which will meet twice a year.
The Forum is an opportunity to update all interested stakeholders on, and for them to directly engage with, the implementation process and key issues arising in the area of family justice.
It is also an opportunity for the FJIG to engage with stakeholders on particular issues or pieces of work related to the actions outlined in the document.