About Us

<< Family Law Reporting Project

Goal six of the Family Justice Strategy 2022-2025 focuses on developing better ways to manage, collect, and share information within the family justice system to enable better case management, statistical reporting, and evidence-based decision-making, while simultaneously maintaining privacy and dignity for children and parents. One of the actions under this goal was to examine the feasibility of establishing a family law case reporting system.

As part of that commitment, the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration commissioned the Child Law Project, led by Dr Carol Coulter, to deliver the Family Law Reporting Project. Currently, Ireland does not have a comprehensive system for regularly and systematically reporting on private family law proceedings. Establishing such a reporting system is a hugely significant initiative under the Family Justice Strategy.

The project will operate over a three-year period and will observe a representative sample of family law cases across different court jurisdictions and geographical locations, including both urban and rural areas. Through this work, the project aims to:

• Increase public understanding of family law proceedings;
• Promote transparency while protecting families’ privacy;
• Support evidence-based policymaking; and
• Enhance confidence and trust in the family justice system.

The Family Law Reporting Project will:

• Collect information on key aspects of family law proceedings;
• Compile and analyse data to identify trends and inform policy development;
• Produce case reports describing court proceedings and key issues arising during hearings;
• Explain the types of orders being sought and the reasons why they are being sought; and
• Publish anonymised reports that enhance public understanding of family law proceedings while protecting the identities of those involved.

The Family Law Reporting Project team includes:

Executive Team

Dr Carol Coulter, Executive Director

Corina Byrne, Project Manager

Researchers and Reporters

Dr Elaine O’ Callaghan, Senior Researcher and Reporter

Erin Brogan, Solicitor

Olivia Dowling, BL

Peter Paul Hughes, BL

Emily Ryan, BL

This research work is supported by an independent Research Advisory Group. The objective of the Group is to support the Department of Justice, Home Affairs and Migration and the Family Law Reporting Project by providing advice on various issues at different points throughout the project.

Members include:

• Deirdre McCaughey, Principal Officer, Access to Justice and Family Justice Policy, Department of Justice, Home Affairs and Migration (Co-Chair)
• Alice Wainwright, Head of Research and Evaluation, Department of Justice, Home Affairs and Migration (Co-Chair)
• The Honourable Ms Justice Nuala Jackson, High Court
• Her Honour Judge Elizabeth Maguire, Circuit Court
• Judge John Campbell, District Court
• Jennifer Clancy, Head of Family Reform, Courts Service
• Dr Aisling Parkes, Senior Lecturer, UCC School of Law
• Dr Rebecca Murphy, Senior Legal Researcher, Department of Justice, Home Affairs and Migration (Secretariat)

The following Protocol governs the operation of the Family Law Reporting Project:

• Why was the Family Law Reporting Project set up?

The project was established under the Family Justice Strategy 2022-2025 to improve transparency and public understanding of family law proceedings while maintaining the privacy of children and families.

• Who is the project responsible to?

The project is responsible to the Department of Justice, Home Affairs and Migration. However, it is an independent project led by its Executive Director, Dr Carol Coulter. The Department does not have any role in selecting courts or cases for coverage or for publication.

• Who will be reporting on family law cases?

The Executive Director of the project will oversee court attendance and reporting by a number of full- and part-time reporters who are qualified in law or family law.

• Where will the reports be published?

Case reports and annual reports will be published on this website.

• What information will be published?

The case reports will typically provide a description of the case as it unfolds in court, including the proceedings, the orders sought, the reasons advanced by the parties, the evidence given by witnesses, the judge's decision, and the reasons for that decision.

• How often will these reports be published?

It is intended that case reports will be published on the website twice a year. In addition, an annual report highlighting the key themes and trends emerging from those reports will also be published.

• How will the cases be selected?

Not all family law cases are observed or reported on. The sample of cases attended and reported on is selected to be a representative sample of cases across different jurisdictions and geographical areas, reflecting the breadth of family law cases, jurisdictional issues, and urban and rural areas, and weighted according to the volumes of family law heard in various courts.

• Will people be able to request a reporter to attend a specific case?

No. If the reporters were to attend cases because of specific requests, this would contradict the sampling methodology and distort the random nature of the exercise and therefore distort the outcome of the research.

• Will the children, families, or judges involved in cases be identified?

No. Reporters will be bound by a Protocol designed to ensure that no information that could lead to the identification of children, families, or judges can be published. Judges will not be identified because many are assigned to relatively small geographical areas, and identifying a judge could indirectly identify the location of a case and increase the risk of identifying the children or families involved.

• Can I tell the Family Law Reporting Project about a case and have it included in the reports?

No. The law allowing the project to be set up states that a person may “prepare a report of proceedings” and “attend the proceedings”. This means that only reports of proceedings attended by a person specified in the law or the accompanying regulations can prepare such reports, which must be based on attending the proceedings.

• What if I recognise myself in a report? Is that a breach of the in-camera rule?

No. It is possible that a person involved in the proceedings, either as a party or a professional, or a close family member, will recognise the case from the circumstances described. However, this will only be possible because they are already aware of the circumstances, and they are therefore unlikely to learn anything they do not already know. The public will not be aware of the circumstances and will therefore not recognise the parties.

• Can I contact the Family Law Reporting Project?

You can contact the Family Law Reporting Project through the Child Law Project at info@childlawproject.ie. For more information, visit the Child Law Project website.

Please note: The Child Law Project cannot offer legal advice or accept requests to attend or report on specific cases. The reports produced by the Family Law Reporting Project are only a snapshot of what happens in the family law courts and are not a substitute for legal advice. Information on preparing for a family law case can be found on the Courts Service website.

Other organisations that can help you include:

• The Legal Aid Board may be able to provide legal advice and representation. You can find your nearest law centre on their website.
• Free Legal Advice Centre (FLAC) provides free, confidential legal advice.
• The Law Society of Ireland provides public guides and a directory of practising solicitors.