316. Deputy Ciarán Ahern asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the current regulatory framework for section 32 assessors; whether he intends on introducing an independent statutory framework, including safeguarding and mandatory reporting obligations for court-appointed professionals; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [52325/26]

317. Deputy Ciarán Ahern asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration if consideration has been given to the introduction of multi-disciplinary child welfare teams to advise the courts in complex cases involving children; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [52326/26]

I propose to take Questions Nos. 316 and 317 together.

Section 32 of the Guardianship of Infants Act 1964 provides for the ordering of two types of report. Section 32(1)(a) allows the court to order a report, of its own motion or upon an application being made to it by a party to the proceedings, from an expert in writing on any question affecting the welfare of the child in proceedings concerning guardianship, custody or upbringing of, or access to a child.

Section 32(1)(b) allows the court to order a report from an expert to determine and convey the child’s views in any proceedings related to guardianship of, custody of, or access to a child. The sole purpose of the appointment of the expert is to express the wishes of the child either generally or in respect of specific questions on which the court may seek the child’s views. In both instances, experts are appointed by the judge to compile a report for the court’s consideration.

The Guardianship of Infants Act 1964 (Child’s Views Expert) Regulations 2018 (S.I. No. 587 of 2018) specify the qualifications and minimum level of professional experience required of an expert to determine and convey a child’s views to the court. The Regulations, which were recently amended by the Guardianship of Infants Act 1964 (Child’s Views Expert) (Amendment) Regulations 2026, provide that the following professionals may be appointed under section 32(1)(b) of the 1964 Act to perform the functions of an expert if they have a period of 3 out of the previous 5 years’ experience of working directly with children: a psychiatrist; a psychologist; a social care worker; a social worker; a registered teacher; a speech and language therapist; and an occupational therapist.

Section 47 of the Family Law Act 1995 provides that the Circuit Court or High Court may order a report in writing on any question affecting the welfare of a party to family law proceedings or any other person to whom they relate.

The Programme for Government commits to ensuring proper regulation and funding for Voice of the Child and Welfare reports, giving children a voice in legal proceedings that affect them. On 13 June 2024, my Department published a wide-ranging review of the role of expert reports in the family law process. The Review puts forward several recommendations on which significant progress has been made. These include:

• produce guidelines on the commissioning, content and use of welfare reports;

• develop a voice of the child report template and guidelines and pilot the role of Children’s Court Advocate;

• develop cost controls for expert reports and review the fees specified for Voice of the Child reports in the Guardianship of Infants Act 1964 (Child’s Views Experts) Regulations 2018; and,

• establish a panel of assessors with a structure to oversee its management.

In October 2024, my Department established a Voice of the Child Working Group with membership comprising both statutory and voluntary stakeholders in the family justice system. The group was set up in line with the commitment in Goal One of the Family Justice Strategy, that of “supporting children”. The group is taking forward some of the recommendations in the Review of Expert Reports, including the development of a Voice of the Child report template and guidelines and the development of the Children’s Court Advocate Pilot Project.

The Children’s Court Advocate Pilot Service will be established in two locations, Waterford and Clonmel in the coming months. The pilot will test a new way of hearing the voice of children in private family law cases and will provide regulation of assessors and consistency of practice. It will be a free service for children and their families. The pilot will be comprehensively evaluated to assess its effectiveness in improving how the voice of the child is heard and considered in private family law proceedings.

Officials in my Department are currently undertaking a preliminary scoping exercise to progress work on cost controls and establishing a panel of family law assessors. The panel will address a number of issues identified in the Review of the Role of Expert Reports in the Family Law Process (www.assets.gov.ie/static/documents/review-of-the-role-of-expert-reports-in-the-family-law-process.pdf), including lack of regulation of experts and lack of adequate training or accreditation.

On 16 April, Judicial Guidelines on the Commissioning, Preparation, Content and Usage of Expert Reports in Family Law Proceedings were published. A cross-jurisdictional committee of judges chaired by Ms Justice Nuala Jackson was established to prepare the guidelines. These guidelines are intended to promote consistency and best practice in the use of welfare reports in private family law proceedings in Ireland. They clarify, among other things, the role and duties of an expert, the process of compiling a report, what a report should contain, releasing reports to the parties, as well as the complaints mechanism.

On 26 June, I announced the launch of a new survey to learn more about professionals providing Voice of the Child and Welfare reports in family law proceedings to assist with the development and establishment of a panel of assessors. Once fully implemented, the recommendations in the Review of Expert Reports will help improve the quality of expert reports in family law proceedings, standardising practises relating to how they are developed. The survey findings will be used to build an evidence base to inform decision-making along with insights from stakeholder engagement and focus groups, including those from organisations representing families and children.

In relation to mandatory reporting, court appointed professionals must adhere to required child safeguarding measures and reporting measures under the Children First Guidelines and the Children First Act 2015. There are statutory obligations for mandatory reporting for certain categories of professionals under the Act e.g. social workers, social care workers, speech and language therapists, occupational therapists, teachers, psychologists. Mandated persons have two main legal obligations under the Children First Act 2015:

• To report harm of children, above a defined threshold, to Tusla

• To assist Tusla, if requested, in assessing a concern which has been the subject of a mandated report

Under the legislation mandated persons are required to report any knowledge, belief or reasonable suspicion that a child has been harmed, is being harmed, or is at risk of being harmed. The Act defines harm as assault, ill-treatment, neglect or sexual abuse, and covers single and multiple instances.