Children in court hearings to be given their own advocate
The Department of Justice will initially roll out the service in Waterford City District Court and Clonmel District Court, and apply it only to guardianship, custody, and access cases.
'The aim is to ensure children are supported with clear, accessible information about the legal process, and are given meaningful opportunities to express their views in a manner appropriate to their age, development, and individual needs,' the department said.
The move comes on the back of reports, including the Family Justice Strategy, which was published in November 2022.
It found the current system for hearing the voice of a child in private family law proceedings is 'inconsistent' with a wide variance in how often judges ask to hear what the child's view on the situation is.
Some ask for a report in every case while others only do so in a minority of cases.
This has eventually resulted in this pilot programme, which has two main objectives, according to the department.
It said: '[To] provide tailored, child-friendly information to help children to understand what is happening and what to expect, and create a structured and supported mechanism through which the child's views may be conveyed to the court.'
The advocate can come from a variety of backgrounds, with social care workers, teachers and child psychologists among those eligible.
'It is expected that an independent evaluation will run alongside the pilot and the outcomes of the pilot will inform national policy decisions on the future of how we hear the voice of the child in private family law proceedings,' the department added.
According to tender documents, the estimated cost of the project, which is set to last three years, is €3.8m.
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