Minister McEntee publishes review into expert reports and their role in the family law process

The Minister for Justice, Helen McEntee TD has today published a wide-ranging review into the role of expert reports in the family law process, as committed to in the Family Justice Strategy.

In private family law cases, expert reports may be ordered by the court on any aspect of the child’s welfare (welfare reports) or on their views and wishes (‘voice of the child’ reports).

The review examines the commissioning, availability, content and use of these reports, and sets out 20 recommendations for reform.

Minister McEntee said:

“Ensuring the voice of children is heard and their best interests are given paramount consideration are not just important aspects of family law, they are constitutional requirements.

“Expert reports can be helpful in assisting judges in making difficult decisions which are often required in such cases.

“However, we recognise that there are issues with the commissioning and cost of these reports, as well as the availability and regulation of assessors. Our extensive consultations with stakeholders both through the development of the Family Justice Strategy and for this review specifically have left us in no doubt that reform is needed.

“I welcome the meaningful and ambitious recommendations that have emerged from this review, 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.”

Among the Review’s key recommendations are to:

• Produce guidelines on the commissioning, content and use of expert reports;

• Establish a panel of assessors with a structure to oversee its management;

• Secure provision of public funding for welfare reports, and in the short term, Voice of the Child Reports – subject to engagement with the Minister for Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform;

• Establish the role of Children’s Court Advocate, initially on a pilot basis, to assist children in having their voice heard in family law proceedings

• Increase pre-court family supports including parenting when separated courses, parenting plans and mediation, to reduce the overall demand for expert reports by giving parents more tools and supports at an early stage

Work will commence work to produce guidelines on the commissioning, content and use of expert reports in the second half of this year. The preparatory work on establishing a panel of assessors is expected to commence in the first half of 2025.

Minister McEntee continued:

“Reforming our Family justice system is a complex and long-term project which will deliver meaningful improvements for people who have to interact with the system at difficult moments in their personal lives.

“The 9 goals and 50 actions of the Family Justice Strategy, when implemented, will establish a strong foundation for further reforms of the system and complement the establishment and operation of the family courts.

“The publication today of this comprehensive review and the implementation of its recommendations will be a significant element of those wider reforms.

“Informed by research and stakeholder consultation, the review sets out recommendations that will deliver real, child-centred reform in the Family Courts system when implemented.

“Implementation of the recommendations will, understandably, take time but we have identified a clear sequence for progress, which will get underway as a priority.

“This will also be hugely beneficial to the implementation of the Family Courts Bill, which I intend to progress to Committee Stage in the coming weeks.”

ENDS../

Notes for editors

• The review has been published at Review of the Role of Expert Reports in the Family Law Process

• The review was led by the Department of Justice and informed by:

- a review of statute and case law in the area;

- a review of previous consultation material submitted for the development of the Family Justice Strategy, including the consultation process with children and young people;

- interviews with 38 stakeholders from a broad spectrum, including the judiciary, the Courts Service, the Legal Aid Board, legal professionals, assessors who provide expert reports to the Courts, and NGOs, including children’s groups and;

- a comparative review of welfare reports and mechanisms to hear the voice of the child in other jurisdictions.

Table 1: Summary of recommendations for Reform

Welfare Reports
Short-term	Medium-term	Long-term
1. Increase pre-court family support	12. Develop a professional diploma for the role of court assessor	14. A state-funded body should be tasked with providing welfare reports
2. Explore the possibility of introducing mandatory parenting when separated courses for those who file family law proceedings	13. Increase Social Work course places
3. Make parenting plan templates available on the Courts Service Website
4. Review Affidavits of Welfare and Statement of Arrangements to assess whether they could be expanded
5. Produce guidelines on the commissioning, content and use of expert reports
6. Establish a panel of assessors
7. Provide training for assessors
8. Promote and advertise the role of court assessor
9. Provide information on expert reports to parents and children
10. Develop cost controls for expert reports
11. Fund welfare reports ordered by the court

Voice of the Child Reports
Short-term	Interim	Medium-term
15. Develop a Voice of the Child report template	17. Commission Voice of the Child reports from assessors on the panel	20. Develop a professional diploma for the role of Children’s Court Advocate
16. Establish the Children’s Court Advocate Pilot Project	18. Fund Voice of the Child reports
19. Review the fees specified for Voice of the Child reports in the Guardianship of Infants Act 1964 (Child’s Views Experts) Regulations 2018