Barristers, solicitors and "other prescribed persons" are to be allowed to attend family law cases and publish reports on them, in a relaxation of the in camera rule announced by the Minister for Justice yesterday.
The move has been welcomed by family law experts, though there has also been a call for the gathering of "reliable statistics" on a consistent basis "to get a bird's-eye view of how the family law courts work".
In a statement issued yesterday the Minister, Michael McDowell, announced the introduction of the Civil Liability and Courts Act. Section 40 "allows barristers and solicitors to attend in camera cases [ mainly family law cases] in order to draw up a report and that report may be published".
The names of parties will not be published.
Mr McDowell has yet to finalise who "other prescribed persons" will be. A spokesman could not say whether this would include journalists.
Family law solicitor Geoffrey Shannon said he "very much" welcomed the development. He said it achieved the balance between "ensuring people's privacy at a time of intense emotional upheaval" while "lifting the veil of secrecy" that surrounded family law.
The public was entitled to know how family law worked, he said. However, he feared the relaxation would lead only to an irregular "snapshot" of some cases in the courts.
"The type of information we really need is qualitative."
He called for a comprehensive system for the collation of statistics, which could be issued regularly - eg monthly or quarterly - and "transmitted to the public".
"For example in divorce and judicial separation cases we need information about the ancillary orders. How many pension adjustment orders are being made? On what grounds? And which judges are making which orders?
"In custody cases how many judges refuse access to the fathers? And on what grounds?"
He said the absence of such statistical information hampered government departments in making policy and also hampered clear debate about the issues raised by such lobby groups as those representing separated fathers.
He said there may be huge variations between how family law cases were handled in Dublin and other parts of the country.
The debate on relaxing the rule began in 1985, with the report from the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Marital Breakdown. It has expressed concern about the impact of the rule.
The Minister also announced that judges in personal injuries cases will be able to direct parties to take part in mediation conferences.
