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FAMILY COURTS IN Ireland are grim places, to say the least.
Family Courts operate up and down the country, in every small town and city in Ireland.
Unlike other court sittings, you can’t just walk in, take a seat and watch what’s going on.
This court deals with sensitive and personal matters, including (but not limited to) divorce, custody, child maintenance, domestic violence and children in state care.
For a number of years, this court was shrouded in mystery. Only judges, lawyers and the families affected were allowed to attend. Three years ago, the rules changed and the public finally got an insight into what happened behind the closed doors of the courts – as the media were allowed in, in a limited capacity.
In the capital, all family court hearings used to take place at Dolphin House in the Temple Bar area of Dublin – but many have now been moved to a nearby building. Domestic violence applications are still heard at the Dublin 2 courts, however.
On a typical day – before the new building came into use – there would be countless babies, toddlers and older children waiting in the lobby with one or both parents, who were there to deal with some incredibly difficult situations.
In the system, on any given day, some children are with parents who are fighting over custody issues. Others are there with a mother or father who may be faced with the prospect of having their children removed from their custody. Others still are there with a parent who has experienced an incident of domestic violence the day before.
A judge’s schedule is filled for the day, as they try to make it through the backlog of cases.
While families wait to be called, the children remain confined to their surroundings. As a reporter who covered the courts, I witnessed children sitting on the floor playing (as there were no seats available outside the cramped courtrooms). Others would run around after each other, dodging in between the solicitors there to fight their parents’ cases.
There were no play rooms, family rooms, no child-friendly drawings or images on the walls, nothing to alleviate the reality that this is a court which can be very daunting for a small child going through a very difficult time.
Facilities for the 21st century
And this is just in Dublin. Currently, family law cases are held in special court offices in Dublin, but regionally, they are held in District Courts on certain days of the month.
Calls have now been made by the Law Society of Ireland for the government to roll out improved family courts.
In its annual report, the solicitors’ regulatory body said a key area of concern was the lack of government action on creating a network of dedicated family law facilities.
“The personal and vulnerable nature of this area of law demands a 21st century approach to catering for the needs of those dealing with some of life’s most challenging circumstances – divorce, custody and child safety,” noted the Law Society of Ireland report.
The Courts Services, those in the legal profession and judges have long been calling for better facilities for family courts.
Four years ago, it was announced that a referendum to establish a new dedicated Family Court system would be needed. One year later, the Department of Justice said a vote to amend the Constitution was not necessary.
At the time, Barnardos called on the government to deliver on its promises to implement a court structure for family matters, stating that the system as it stands is “not adequate”.
It said the district and circuit courts were overburdened, insisting that a new court system must be rolled out.
The Department of Justice said it was in consultation with the judiciary and the Attorney General, with the aim of publishing a general scheme for the Family Law Courts Bill and enacting the Bill in the first half of 2015.
Family friendly facilities
Speaking at a seminar in 2013, the former Justice Minister Alan Shatter said that the new court system should have adequate private consultation rooms and a co-located welfare and assessment service, as well as court mediation facilities.
However, he warned that establishing such a court could take years.
There was movement in July of this year, when it was announced that a new court complex would deliver the long-awaited modern family law court.
“A visit to the courts can be a very stressful experience and I am very conscious of the concerns expressed by the judiciary, legal practitioners and victims groups in relation to the poor state and set-up of many Family Court facilities,” Justice Minister Charlie Flanagan said, at the launch of the Courts Service Annual Report.
He added:
The development of a new purpose-built Family Law and Children’s Court complex on the Hammond Lane site was included as one of the key Justice Sector projects in the Government’s Infrastructure and Capital Investment Plan 2016 to 2021
Fine Gael TD Josepha Madigan said a new Family Court complex was vital and much-needed.
“Cramped facilities for Family Court users need to end,” the Dublin TD said.
The proposed Family Court Complex represents a new departure, with a specialist building in the heart of Dublin. It will allow the Irish courts to better deal with the large number of family law cases that come through our legal system and to better cater for the needs of families and children going through the legal process.
The establishment of a dedicated family court will require the passing of the Family Courts Bill – but the legislation is unlikely to get over the line for some time.
Minister Flanagan has said further legislative initiatives are planned, which will include the roll out of additional courts facilities, particularly in Dublin, for the hearing of family law and childcare applications.
“Overall the number of courtrooms dedicated to District Court family law in Dublin increased from five to seven since October 2016 with a consequential positive impact on waiting times,” he said.
He said the government is committed to significant reform of the courts, including the establishment of a family law court structure that is streamlined, more efficient, and less costly.
And on the Family Court Bill, which the department said it would like enacted in 2015?
The minister said he hopes consultation with all relevant stakeholders will be completed soon, and the Bill can be approved by government in the coming months.
Once the General Scheme has been approved by government, it will be referred to the Office of the Parliamentary Counsel for drafting and will be subject to the usual pre-legislative scrutiny by the relevant Oireachtas committee.
Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said the heads of the Bill will be published in this Dáil session.
maybe if those in the legal professions
weren’t creaming off so much money in
fees ; there might be more money for improvement
@Kate Cullen: Did you even read the article? The article is about government facilities and the facts that the Court facilities are insufficient. Lawyers fees have nothing to do with this at all, these are government buildings which are entirely unaffected by lawyers or their fees. These facilities are financed with taxpayers money.
@Kitty Prendergast: its taxpayer money that pays a fortune for the filthy useless family court judges
I just don’t know what to say about this article , I wish we lived in a utopia where justice was given , but instead we live in a land where lawyers play with the letter of the law not it’s intent .
If we hadn’t bailed out the banks we would be in a position to have our vision of a utopia well underway , but every day we see how loopholes in law allow criminals to escape .
Time to act to the spirit of the law , not milk the system tying it in knots .
@Paddy Hayden:
‘If we hadn’t bailed out the banks we would be in a position to have our vision of a utopia well underway’
If we hadn’t bailed out the banks we would be up the creek without a paddle. Besides the issue of the account holders losing their money and impact on interest rates etc. How do you think we would be able to pay the running cots of the country
@Nick Allen: “If we hadn’t bailed out the banks we would be up the creek without a paddle.”
No, we wouldn’t. The banks were private entities; their debts were on individuals/bondholders. The Govt., with the active support of FG/Lab decided to place the debt burden on most of the citizens here. That’s why public services were decimated. The public health system is failing. Homelessness at new records. Child poverty, growing inequality. Rack-renting landlords subsidised by the same State forced EU bank debt on families & communities ….
@Andrew Brennan:
Although the banks are private it would be very naive to try and decouple the banking system from the government and the overall economic of the country. If we did not bail out the banks then the entire system would have fallen over losing money for virtually every citizen in the country. Furthermore, our banking system would have defaulted on their debt and just to be clear, this is money which the Irish banks borrowed from investors, a lot of these investors being Irish insurance companies which underwrite many many Irish pension. These would all have become worthless. Also, if we defaulted our credit rating would have been shot and it would have been virtually impossible to borrow money and if we were able to borrow money then it would have been at an extremely high cost. Without borrowing money we would not have the cash flow to run the country.
The law society of Ireland making this call. solicitors are the biggest crooks in this country.the rich that make the rules up to benefit themselves
@dick dastardly: Just don’t hire one then. Go fight your own cases. My lawyer in Dolphin House was amazing. She was there all day and fought tooth and nail for less than the cost of a Plumber.
Family Law is a disgrace in this country. Disgruntled exes can make as many applications as they like, all under the shroud of anonymity. Domestic Violence just continues and the Courts are used as another weapon. I cannot describe what I have witnessed over the last number of years. I think the “in camera” rule needs to be lifted, like Scotland have done. Let there be no secrets,
Thank goodness though that the media can now access these Courts – albeit with proper restrictions. For much of the 20th century these [Courts] were [deliberately] shrouded in mystery as the media actually ignored them even though no restrictions on reporting were in place at the time. And as a result 170,000 children – ONE HUNDRED and SEVENTY THOUSAND CHILDREN – were consigned to Institutions the media & society knew were places of dread.
In 2010 The Law reform commission published reports into years of research , nothing much has changed in Family Since , so of these recommendations go back to 1982. Its gathering dust on a shelf somewhere with all the other reports that would make a difference , They know what needs to be done.
http://www.thejournal.ie/family-courts-3675800-Nov2017/?utm_source=shortlink
http://www.thejournal.ie/family-courts-3675800-Nov2017/?utm_source=shortlink.
Here is a taste of whats in their recommendations;
new terms “parental responsibility”, “day-to-day care” and “contact” should replace the terms guardianship, custody and access currently used in the Guardianship of Infants Act 1964. The new terms would give a clearer indication of what is actually involved in this part of family law; and remove any misunderstanding that parental rights involving children exist without corresponding responsibilities. It would also ensure that the terms used in Ireland would be in line with those used in many other States and in international instruments to which Ireland is a party.
parental responsibility (guardianship) should be defined in legislation as including the duty to maintain and properly care for a child, the right to apply for a passport for the child and the right to make decisions about where a child will live, a child’s religious and secular education, health requirements and general welfare.
day-to-day care (custody) should be defined in legislation as including the ability of the parent, or person in loco parentis, to exercise care and control over a child on a day-to-day basis, to protect and to supervise the child.
contact (access) should be defined in legislation as including the right of the child to maintain personal relations and contact with the parent or other qualifying person on a regular basis, subject to the proviso that contact must be in the best interests of the child.
mothers and fathers (including non-marital fathers) should have automatic joint parental responsibility (guardianship) for their children.
there should be automatic joint registration of both parents on a birth certificate (intended to reinforce the right of a child to know their parents).
legislation should facilitate the extension of parental responsibility to civil partners and step-parents. The Commission recommends that civil partners and step-parents could obtain parental responsibility by way of an agreement with the other parties who have parental responsibility for the child or by application to court.
where parental responsibility is extended by court order the court shall have regard to, among other factors, the wishes and best interests of the child and the views of other parties with parental responsibility.
the ability to apply for day-to-day care (custody) should be extended to relatives of a child, persons in loco parentis and persons with a bona fide interest in the child in circumstances where the parents are unable or unwilling to exercise parental responsibility.
the draft Children and Parental Responsibility Bill in the Report uses the proposed new terms and, as well as replacing the Guardianship of Infants Act 1964, incorporates the reforms made in the Report.
Easily some of the worst experiences of my younger years. Grim is a good word alright for waiting outside a courthouse in the middle of town for all to see waiting, waiting and waiting some more only to be told, no not today. I have to say I will always remember the kindness of the clerk there in my situation. Family law is everything but child friendly. And the barrister/solicitor made a small fortune for a few hours work. Great little country we have!
The courts aren’t made for the job, the judges don’t want to do the job. Neither are they trained in Family Law for long enough. The judgements, rules and laws are not enforced by a proper agency. The police don’t want to do it either.
Problem is too many people are suffering from the way Family Law is doled out in Ireland. Sadly the children suffer, parental alienation is rife and lies under oath are not punished.
Courts, even family courts, are no place for children. Why would anyone want to bring their child to witness mammy and daddy battling over money, custody or worse, violent incidents. Leave the kids at home, school or with a babysitter. They shouldn’t be there in the first place.
Yes minister
Why would you bring your children to court anyway? To my knowledge most judges won’t accept young children’s statements in family matters, so what purpose would it serve to have them there? Courts, including family courts, are no place for children. No child wants to sit around all day witnessing mammy and daddy battling over money, custody or abuse. Leave them at home, school or with a babysitter.
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