A group of NGOs and legal groups has cautioned that without urgent changes to the Family Courts Bill 2022, children, couples experiencing relationship breakdown, and survivors of domestic violence will continue to face rough justice in the family courts.

The group includes Women’s Aid, Rape Crisis Network Ireland, Safe Ireland, One Family, Treoir, Dublin Solicitors Bar Association, Cork Family Lawyers Association, Clinical Assessors in Family Law Ireland CLG, and the Law Society. This diverse group, representing survivors of domestic violence, children, unmarried parents, and people who need to access free legal advice, is united in their view that the Family Courts Bill cannot achieve its aims without important changes.

The depth of feeling around three particular aspects of the Family Courts Bill 2022 is such that this group of independent organisations has come together to ask that the Minister for Justice look again at changes that need to be made in respect of the Bill.

The group is supportive of the broad intentions of the Bill and has acknowledged the work done to progress real change and to seek to improve the experience of those going through the family justice system in Ireland. However, the group has put forward priority improvements to the Family Courts Bill to safeguard the best interests of children, families, and survivors of domestic violence:

1. As it stands, the family courts offer inadequate facilities, waiting areas, and processes to protect children, couples experiencing relationship breakdown including custody or access issues, and survivors of domestic violence from unsafe situations. The Family Courts Bill should include a Guiding Principle which deals with safety for all parties, including safe outcomes and safe processes to prevent further traumatisation at an extremely difficult time in their lives.
2. While Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) is a necessary, and often positive, tool in family law cases, when properly resourced, there are circumstances in which ADR cannot be expected to be utilised. This includes cases involving domestic violence, which includes sexual violence within a relationship and coercive control. Those exceptions need to be explicitly stated in the Family Courts Bill.
3. The proposed move of divorce, separation, cohabitation, and civil partnership cases to the already over-burdened and over-stretched District Court will make things worse, not better. It is not in the best interests of children, families, and survivors of domestic violence that such cases are heard in the District Court. The Family Courts Bill should be amended to retain divorce, separation, cohabitation, and civil partnership cases in the Circuit Court and also to invest in reform of the existing District Family Court, rather than duplicate the system that already exists in the Circuit Family Court.

Clíona Saidléar, Executive Director, Rape Crisis Network Ireland, said: “People who have cause to use the family court are particularly vulnerable, and their experiences navigating the system can be unnecessarily difficult. Survivors of sexual and domestic violence, including children, must be at the centre of family courts reform. This means the process must be accessible, with each stage easily understood and meaningful, these stages should be dealt with promptly, the expertise should be appropriate, and users should not be asked to pay for court ordered assessments. Very importantly, the process should not be readily open to manipulation by a party who seeks to continue abusive and controlling behaviour through using the process itself. This Bill is part of the solution to this complex set of problems. We consider, along with our partners, that this Bill needs close scrutiny and amendment to ensure it can deliver on its ambitious intention.

“The Family Courts Bill has the potential to greatly improve the courts experience for its users. These are real people using our courts services every day, who deserve a justice system that provides the safety, compassion, and vindication they need. Amongst many challenges faced by those navigating this system, delay in the system, is one of the most impactful. Part of the answer is increasing capacity and resourcing, the lack of which is exacerbating the problems inherent in the system. This Bill’s  proposed solution to utilise the District Courts more is concerning given the volume and complexity of family cases that will be transferred to it. We can see many risks in this proposal alongside highly uncertain wins.

“We reiterate our call inviting the Minister for Justice to meet with us as stakeholders so we can work together to ensure the Bill can deliver on her intention so that together we can progress the much-needed reforms to build a better family justice system for all who need it.”

Peter Doyle, Chairperson of the Law Society’s Family and Child Law Committee, said: “The Family Courts Bill is long awaited and everyone who works in the family justice system welcomes progress being made in this area. However, the shared concerns of these diverse representative NGOs and legal groups should send a clear signal that it is not yet fit for purpose. We are all united in wanting to support Government as it seeks to make reform in this area.

“Our proposed amendments to the Bill, which are based on each organisation’s unique perspective and needs, and direct experiences of working in the family courts, are practical and achievable. If taken on board, the eventual Family Courts Bill would truly create a better family justice system for children, families, and survivors of domestic violence, a goal we are all committed to advancing collectively.

“We want to make the system better, not worse. The proposed move of divorce, separation, cohabitation, and civil partnership cases to the District Court is a step backwards. We hope that our concerns will be heard and acted on, and we urge the Minister for Justice to meet with us.”

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