Consultation
Open consultation on Parental Alienation
Published on
Open for submissions from
Submissions closed
Last updated on
Published on
Open for submissions from
Submissions closed
Last updated on
Consultation is closed
The Department of Justice committed to undertake a public consultation on the issue of parental alienation as part of Justice Plan 2022. Consultations are an important opportunity for stakeholders and citizens to express their views and inform the department’s thinking on whether any legislative and/or policy changes may be required on a range of issues it is responsible for.
Parental alienation generally refers to a process through which a child becomes estranged from a parent as the result of the psychological manipulation of the other parent. It may also refer to situations where one parent is wrongfully influencing their child or children against the other parent. As a concept, parental alienation is contested, and little is known about how different jurisdictions and systems address it.
There is no clear agreed definition of parental alienation in Ireland and there are no reliable statistics on its prevalence. However, it would appear that the term has been increasingly cited in the Irish courts.
The department wants to provide an opportunity for people to give their views on parental alienation. In particular, we would like to hear about:
We are interested in hearing about all types of experiences. However, please note that if you are or were involved in a court proceeding, it is important that you do not provide any information on what occurred at any court proceeding. This is because family cases in court usually occur in private (‘in-camera’)[1] and those involved are not permitted to discuss the case with anyone who is not directly involved. This means that you cannot tell us about specific details of a family court case or identify any of the parties involved.
Your submissions will inform the department’s consideration of policy and law in this area.
Submissions should be made electronically by email to parentalalienation@justice.ie
The deadline for submissions is 24 June 2022.
Submissions may be published in the future and will fall under the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act 2014.
[1] In order to protect the privacy of the family in family court proceedings, the law does not allow reporting of information likely to identify the parties to the proceedings or any children to whom the proceedings relate.
Section 40 of the Civil Liability and Courts Act, 2004 allows solicitors, barristers to attend family law cases and publish reports. Part 2 (Sections 3 to 12) of the Courts and Civil Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 2013 allows journalists to attend family law cases and to publish reports. The publication of reports of family law cases is allowed under these Acts on the strict condition that no names, addresses or any other details which might identify the parties can be used.