Parts of the Family Courts Bill will negatively impact victims of domestic violence and children, family law practitioners have claimed. 

The Bill was introduced in 2022 with the aim of putting family and children at the centre of the nation’s justice system.

Proposed changes include the establishment of a family court and specialist training for full-time family law judges. 

However, there are concerns around the proposed move of proceedings from the Circuit Court to the District Court when land owned by the couple is below valued at below €1 million. 

Safe Ireland’s Caroline Counihan said amendments are needed to protect vulnerable people. 

“The addition of an extra 5,000 cases is going to further delay very important hearings for our clients who are survivors of domestic violence,” she said. 

“Every delay is going to mean more distress, more expense and may even have implications for the safety of those people.” 

Family Lawyers Association Chair Paul McCarthy said they do not oppose the entirety of the Bill - but the focus should be on improving what is already there. 

“We have a Circuit Family Court already,” he said. 

“We don’t need to reinvent the wheel by putting all of that in the District Court where there is no such structure. 

“So, why not take all of the resources that are going to be committed to the District Court project and put them into the Circuit Court and just make it better?”

Justice Minister Helen McEntee is due to meet with family law practitioners next week to discuss the Bill.

Main image: Posed picture of a domestic violence victim.