From:Department of Justice, Home Affairs and Migration

The Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration, Jim O’Callaghan, today (Friday, 17 July) chaired an engaging dialogue on ‘The Voice of the Child in Private Family Law’ at the informal meeting of the EU Justice and Home Affairs Ministers. This forms part of Ireland’s overall commitment to place the "Voice of the Child" and youth participation at the centre of its policymaking agenda for the EU Presidency.

At the meeting, Ministers discussed giving children a voice in family law proceedings that affect them.

Two young people with lived experience of domestic violence and navigating the family justice system in Ireland spoke to the attendees about their experience, supported by Barnardos. The young people stressed the importance of listening to children:

“Every child deserves to be safe. Every child deserves to be heard. And every child deserves a justice system that listens before it decides.”

“Our voices and opinions matter.”

“Ask us what happened, we were there to witness it.”

“A child doesn’t need a bruise to be abused.”

“We need people in the court that understand domestic abuse and how it effects children and the huge impact it has on people’s lives.”

The Ministerial discussion highlighted the need to improve the accessibility of the family law process for children, including by improving access to age-appropriate information about family law processes; better supporting children to articulate their views in cases that affect them such as guardianship, custody or access arrangements; and ensuring that children receive an explanation of how their views were taken into consideration in the decision making process.

Speaking at the event, Minister O’Callaghan said:

“Children and young people are citizens of today and not just adults of tomorrow. They have a right to be included and heard when decisions are being made that will affect them.

“These decisions can have lifelong ramifications for a child’s life and wellbeing.

“Therefore, the views of the child need to be not only heard as a formality but properly considered and reflected in legal decision making. Promoting the participation of children in these contexts will be a priority throughout the Irish Presidency.”

Ireland has a constitutional obligation to hear the voice of the child in private family law proceedings and an obligation under Article 12 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) to hear the voice of the child and have their views be given due weight in all matters affecting them, in particular, in judicial and administrative proceedings.

The Department of Justice, Home Affairs and Migration published its Review of Expert Reports in 2024 and has been progressing work on the implementation of its recommendations. This includes the development of a Children’s Court Advocate Pilot Service, which will be established in two locations, Waterford and Clonmel, Co. Tipperary in the coming months. The pilot will trial a new way of hearing the voice of children in private family law cases, ensuring all children involved in guardianship, custody and access proceedings are provided with an opportunity to express their views at no cost to them or their families. The model is based on the Lundy Model of participation.

Guidelines on how to prepare Voice of the Child Reports are due to be published in the coming months. The guidelines and accompanying templates, developed by a working group with key stakeholders, will ensure consistency of approach by experts and aim to improve the child’s experience of having their voice heard in private family law proceedings.

On 16 April 2026, 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.