THE Minister for Equality and Law Reform, Mr Taylor, told the Seanad he wanted the marriage breakdown mediation service to become a profession with statutory certification.
Mr Taylor was speaking during the debate on the Divorce Bill, which passed the committee stage.
Any person could set up in practice as a mediator or counsellor, and some people probably did so with inadequate training. The time would come when certification and standards would be necessary, he added.
Prof Joe Lee (Ind) failed in an attempt to require the Minister to make available to solicitors lists of those qualified to help effect reconciliations or to provide a mediation service.
Ms Marian McGennis (FF) claimed the legislation would be premature without the Minister giving the commitment sought. The Minister was grant aiding organisations but unaware of the quality of the services they provided.
A friend of hers had gone for marriage guidance counselling during the painful period before his separation. "To this day he says it is as a result of the counselling they received that they eventually separated."
However, Mr Taylor said there was no question of putting the legislation on hold. Extensive counselling was available and organisations operating in this area were grant aided by almost £1 million a year. A State run service and some private organisations counselled thousands of people annually.
Prof Lee said the issue was not about counselling services, but about which providers would be recommended by solicitors. If the existing services were working well, that was all the more reason for advising solicitors about those deemed to be qualified for such work. Under the Bill, a solicitor had complete freedom in this regard.
Ms McGennis said that if it was felt important that couples seek reconciliation, this should be done properly in accordance with the way the divorce issue had been put to the people. To do otherwise would be to cod them.
Mr Taylor said he could not get involved in the setting of standards for counsellors or mediators. Many people were working in this area and they were doing a fine job.
Prof Lee said that the Minister's response was thoroughly unsatisfactory. A criterion for the granting of a divorce decree was that there was no reasonable prospect of reconciliation, and much emphasis had been placed on this in the referendum.
But there was no obligation on solicitors to ensure that only qualified people were enlisted to try to help salvage marriages which were breaking down. This was an extraordinary vacuum in the legislation.