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ELEVEN ORGANISATIONS ARE calling on the government to immediately allocate the funding required to develop a dedicated Family Law Court at Hammond Lane in Smithfield in Dublin.
The groups behind the Courting Disaster campaign say they have formed a coalition to highlight “the archaic conditions in which family law and childcare cases are currently being heard”.
The campaign, which will be launched in Dublin today, is backed by Barnardos, the Children’s Rights Alliance, Community Law and Mediation, the Dublin Rape Crisis Centre, the Family Lawyers Association, FLAC, the National Women’s Council Ireland, One Family, the Bar of Ireland, the Law Society and Women’s Aid.
It has been agreed in principle for some time that a dedicated Family Law Court is required but agreement has yet to be reached on its structure and funding. In October, the Oireachtas Committee on Justice and Equality recommended that the necessary funding be allocated as a matter of urgency.
In a joint statement related today, the Courting Disaster Campaign Group said: “A properly functioning courts system is essential to providing access to justice.
“Some of the most vulnerable members of society seeking to resolve family law proceedings, often arising from relationship and marital breakdown and domestic violence, are currently faced with wholly unsuitable and inconsistent court facilities where not even basic needs are met, such as separate waiting areas, family friendly spaces and consultation rooms to allow for privacy.
These archaic conditions significantly increase stress and anxiety in what are typically very sensitive cases, and this can result in volatility and even violence in the course of family law litigation.
The group added that an improvement in court facilities and more efficient administrative organisation “will undoubtedly have a positive impact on the management of family law applications and lead to reductions in delays and cost which is in the interest of all parties to proceedings”.
Domestic violence and abuse
In order to meet Ireland’s obligations under the United Nations Convention on The Rights of The Child, Courting Disaster is calling for a number of measures to be implemented.
These include the provision of onsite services to assist children such as Guardian ad Litem (GAL), social workers and specialist legal advice services; the provision of onsite legal aid and mediation services; the creation of a child-friendly environment; and a sufficient number of rooms to cater for private consultations, particularly in relation to facilitating safe spaces for people and families who are experiencing domestic violence and abuse situations.
Speaking in the Dáil recently, Justice Minister Charlie Flanagan said he wants to see the Hammond Lane project “started and completed at the earliest opportunity”.
He welcomed the publication of the committee’s report in October and said €80 million in capital funding has been made available for the development of a new family law centre and children’s court complex at the site.
Flanagan said his department is particularly focused on reforming the family law system, noting that policy, legislation and governance of the system are currently being examined.
“That modernisation includes the introduction of a new family court Bill and the development of a dedicated family court system.
“In addition, a task force comprising senior officials from my Department, the Department of Children and Youth Affairs, the Legal Aid Board and the Courts Service has been formed to seek agreement on core questions of policy and cost,” Flanagan stated.
He said that, under the proposed legislation, family courts “will have new procedures aimed at less adversarial resolution of disputes, and will have appropriate facilities and case management arrangements”.
Flanagan added that he met representatives from the Courts Service in November and is “keen to ensure that we see progress here”.
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Athens enters the financial markets with a bang.!
About time.
Fair play… Should have been done here too seeing as protesting is absolutely useless.
So you think bomb’s should be set of in our streets? Idiot…we had enough of that carry on for 30 years on this Island.
In Northern Ireland you mean. The rest of the island didnt suffer any in comparison to up here.
Jamesy, I think you’ll find that Northern Ireland is on this island (nobody mentioned whose island it is). Or do you think that Northern Ireland is a separate island? Do we need to take a ferry to cross over to Northern Ireland? And, as far as I know, one person’s experience of a bomb exploding in Monaghan or Dublin is the same as another person’s experience of a bomb exploding in Omagh or Belfast – i.e. abject horror and psychological trauma at the very least. Or do you place a lesser value on casualties down south compared to those up north?
What sort of a cowardly animal would place a bomb in a car?
Bombing out the banks
And not even one banker dead.. what a waste of a good bomb!!!!!!
Can these lads not see this helps nothing ! Far from the empire they once were
When was the Greek state an empire?
Approximately 2,500 – 3,000 years ago when they had colonies stretching from Gibraltar to the Caspian Sea. There are still Greek speakers living today in Georgia, Ukraine, Turkey and Italy, albeit in dialects that are not mutually intelligible with modern Greek as spoken in Greece proper. The cities of Marseilles, Sevastopol, Trabzon, etc. were founded by the Greeks. Also, approximately 2,300 years ago we had Alexander the Great who built an empire that stretched from the Adriatic to Pakistan in which a multitude of cities were built in his name, such as Alexandria in Egypt, Alexandria in Afghanistan, Alexandria in Pakistan, and Iskanderiya in Iraq.
The Greek nation is less than 200 years old.
Jeremy, I think you’re confusing the word “nation” with the word “state”. The Greek nation has been in existence for thousands of years, sometimes under petty kingdom rule (Sparta, Athens, Macedonia, etc.), sometimes under the rule of foreign powers (Rome, Ottomans, etc.) and at other times as a unified independent state (Kingdom of Greece, Hellenic Republic, etc.). Greece’s current independence is less than 200 years old, but the nation is far older. You’re actually quite typical of a lot of Irish people when it comes to terminology – you use words in the wrong context and mix meanings up. Tell me this: without consulting a dictionary, can you tell me the difference between “ethnicity”, “race”, “nationality”, “citizenship”, “aboriginal”, “indigenous”?
By the way, just in case I’m misconstrued, that “You’re actually quite typical of a lot of Irish people” comment was not meant as an insult. I apologise if it came across the wrong way.
There are quite a few sick people commenting here which is understandable when you consider the number of Shinners who are attracted to the Journal.
Streamlining its bloated public sector. Why didn’t we do that?
We did.
The cost of governing was reduced including a reduction of 30,000 in staff numbers.
The majority of those 30,000 were temporary contracts that weren’t renewed, natural attrition, and people retiring early.
Correct Pierce. Nobody who was permanent was let go as the job for life still exists. I can only speak for county council staff but a few need firing as some are useless. They know they can get away with doing the minimum. These people will never stretch themselves or go out of their way to help. A lot of council workers become unemployable after being with the council any length of time.
When they wore awesome togas I can assume Jeremy :)
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