Minister Harris publishes policy paper and commissioned research on Parental Alienation
- Foilsithe: 25 Bealtaine 2023
- An t-eolas is déanaí: 12 Aibreán 2025
- the need to ensure that children’s voices are heard and their views considered in family law is essential
- recommendations to address assertions of parental alienation will be progressed through the family justice reforms being led by the Minister
- respondents were asked to share their experiences of parental alienation
- research points to need for improvements to the Irish family courts and family justice system
The Minister for Justice Simon Harris has today published findings of a public consultation and research report which can be found here: (Parental Alienation Research Report and Policy Paper) on the issue of parental alienation, noting the need to continue reforming the family justice system in Ireland, with a focus on placing children and their needs at the centre of the system.
The Department of Justice launched a public consultation in May 2022 which presented an opportunity for individuals and organisations to offer their views on the issue.
Respondents were asked to share their thoughts and experiences of parental alienation, its impact and how it could be responded to in the future.
Over 450 responses were received to the public consultation, including 19 from interested organisations. Amongst the views expressed were suggestions relating to:
- improving family law services
- listening to the voice of the child
- the introduction of additional training for all family law professionals
- enforcement of court orders
- mandatory reunification programmes
- better access to support and counselling
Less than 20% of individual respondents called for legislative change, and amongst them the nature of suggested change was mixed.
The research report, commissioned by the department in 2021, found that:
- while there is evidence of the use of the term parental alienation in Irish courts, there is no common definition or description of it
- the scientific basis for the concept, and for studies identifying its existence, lack methodological rigour
- there have been challenges in relation to assessing parental alienation, particularly through the assessment or expert report process used in family courts (often known as section 32 reports or section 47 reports)
- a narrow range of interventions have been ordered by the Courts in cases where parental alienation was alleged to have occurred. These included family and parent-oriented therapeutic interventions and directions, and in other jurisdictions transfer of custody
Minister Harris said:
“The research report noted a number of areas for consideration to address the issue.
“These include reform of the family courts, focussing on improved assessments and greater precision in the use of the term, training, better signposting and referral pathways to interventions.
“The findings also point to the need for additional research on amongst other things, the relationship between alienation and DSGBV, the impact of family breakdown on children-parent relationships, and children’s views of the family law system.
“Overall, the research all suggested that the means to address parental alienation lie in improvements to the Irish family courts and family justice system.”
The policy paper published today makes the following recommendations:
1. Give priority to children’s voices being heard and considered by the court, and support them in their journey through the system.
2. Examine how expert reports are conducted, what they contain and how assessors are appointed. Provide additional training for those tasked with compiling assessments, particularly in relation to the dynamics of family breakdown.
3. Review assessment tools currently available to the courts, with a view to making recommendations to improve them, as well as identifying how to assist judges in considering issues on a case-by-case basis.
4. Support and extend family support services, including Alternative Dispute Resolution, and make them more accessible.
5. Improve the training and awareness amongst legal professionals and others involved in high-conflict proceedings to increase their understanding of concepts and descriptors associated with behaviours of parents and children in these situations.
6. Actions should be implemented with regards to establishing, and in some areas improving, data collection on family justice issues.
Minister Harris continued:
“I am aware that parental alienation is a contested issue. I also recognise that for the many people who responded to the consultation, they feel that they have been alienated from their children. At the same time, we know that it can also be a feature of high-conflict and DSGBV cases, where people’s safety, security and protection are paramount.
"Reflecting the complex nature of the issue, the recommendations contained in the policy paper which I brought to Government this week underpin the need to see the matter through a broader family justice lens. This is about placing children at the heart of the system which is further enabled to hear them, about supporting and training legal professionals to better understand and support families with their needs and improving what we know about family justice through better data collection.”
The Minister added:
“The government is determined to overhaul the operation of the Family Justice System, to ensure that we have a more efficient and user-friendly family court process that puts the family at the centre of its work.
“This will be achieved largely through implementation of The Family Justice Strategy, which sets out a vision for a family justice system of the future.
“This will be a system that will focus on the needs and rights of children, assist their parents in making decisions that affect all of the family - one that makes it easier for vulnerable parents and families to get support and make informed decisions.
“In particular, the Strategy recognises importance of putting children at the centre of family justice in matters which affect them, and adequately hearing their voice.
“I look forward to further engagement with government colleagues as work continues to implement the ambitious family justice reforms recently introduced.”
Notes
The department committed to undertake a public consultation on the issue of parental alienation as part of the Justice Plan 2022.
All views, opinions and experiences submitted as part of that consultation have been welcomed and underwent a thorough process of review.
The Department of Justice also arranged for independent research on parental alienation to be carried out, commissioning Research Matters in 2021 to conduct an analysis of case law, academic and other literature relating to the topic.
The research looked at a number of areas, namely:
- the definitions and characteristics of parental alienation
- parental alienation in the Irish context
- the wider nature of parental alienation and its relevance to the Irish context
- a comparative understanding in how parental alienation is dealt with across jurisdictions
The research also highlighted that many academics both in Ireland and internationally have raised concerns regarding hearing children’s voices in cases involving claims of parental alienation.
Today marks the publication of a final policy paper integrating the results of the public consultation and commissioned research and outlining any resulting recommendations to inform policy in this area