'At Long Last A Chink of Light' | By Lynch Solicitors

The Government has approved the Family Court Bill and Family Justice Strategy to improve access to justice by creating a new Court within the existing court structure, which will only be dedicated to family matters.

This will result in the construction of a Family Law Court complex at Hammond Lane in Dublin and provide a faster and less adversarial resolution of family law disputes.

What changes will we see?

 There will be a Family High Court, Circuit Court and District Court to deal with family law matters appropriate to its jurisdiction.
 There will be Judges assigned, on a full-time basis, to the Family Court division, who will be suitably trained for the role.
 There are proposals to create a new position of Principal Judge of the Courts to ensure proper and effective management within the court division.
 More non-contentious family law matters will be dealt with in the District Court, thus minimising litigation costs.
 Family law proceedings are held on dedicated days, meaning that the proceedings will be heard in a different building or room or on different days and times from other court sittings.

For further advice or if you wish to discuss any other legal area please contact reception@lynchsolicitors.ie or telephone 052 6124344.

The material contained in this blog is provided for general information purposes only and does not amount to legal or other professional advice. While every care has been taken in the preparation of the information, we advise you to seek specific advice from us about any legal decision or course of action.

 Increase in mediation and alternative dispute resolution as litigants will be allowed to make joint applications
for judicial separation, divorce, and dissolution of civil partnership.

 Establishment of a Family Law Rules Committee to ensure that the rules of the court are reasonable and consistent across all levels of the family courts
 It will be easier to access information about the family justice system
 Services and support will be easier to find
 It will promote awareness of the options available
 Children and those most vulnerable will be provided with improved supports
What are the guiding principles?

The new Bill proposes to keep the child's best interests as the primary consideration in the conduct of the proceedings, in family law proceedings. This means that the judge will ask and consider the child's view, subject to the child's age and maturity.

We also hope to see the courts encouraging and facilitating litigants to resolve the dispute through mediation or alternative dispute resolution where appropriate.

However, such dispute resolution may not be applicable in cases where there is an issue of domestic violence or child abuse.

The Bill will enable the conduct of the proceedings to be held user-friendly whilst still identifying the issues in dispute and minimising the conflict between the parties but in a fast and less costly way.
The Bill further encourages active case management at the courts.

Aferthought

For further advice or if you wish to discuss any other legal area please contact reception@lynchsolicitors.ie or telephone 052-6124344.

The material contained in this blog is provided for general information purposes only and does not amount to legal or other
professional advice.

While every care has been taken in the preparation of the information, we advise you to seek specific advice from us about any legal decision or course of action.

Whilst we may only see the new court structure come into play in 2026, we look forward to seeing family law disputes being heard faster, more professionally, and with the children's interests being the overriding factor.

This has been a long-awaited development which we hope will not be too much longer coming into force.

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