The Seanad Éireann, Ireland’s legislature, passed a bill to establish specialized family law court divisions on Thursday, aiming to make an efficient and user-friendly family justice system.

The Family Courts Bill 2022 establishes the Family District Court, Family Circuit Court and Family High Court, as dedicated divisions within the existing District, Circuit and High courts. The specialized family law judicial system is meant to provide a closer, more effective and adequate mechanism to resolve these sorts of proceedings. According to Minister McEntee, the actual family justice system “does not always” provide for a ‘smooth transition’ in a family’s life at the time of these proceedings.

Ireland Minister for Justice Helen McEntee, TD welcomed the step, considering it as allowing for a key component in the ongoing implementation of the Family Justice Strategy.

Nevertheless, there have been concerns about the increased workload that the passed bill will bring to the District Court, which is already overcrowded. Attorney Orlagh Sharkey argued that reassigning jurisdiction over most divorce cases to the Family District Court could create issues, especially for vulnerable applicants seeking access to justice and due to the potential rise in legal costs for users.

Furthermore, the Family Lawyers Association and the Bar of Ireland expressed concerns that the District Court, being a “summary” court, is designed for handling straightforward and expeditious cases. With the changes introduced by the Family Courts Bill, the District Court will now also be expected to deal with more complex legal matters, which fall outside of its traditional scope.

In the senate debate on 17 October 2024, Minister McEntee addressed the issue, stating that the Family District Court’s jurisdiction is not binding to the parties, meaning that applicants will not have to choose to initiate proceedings before the Family District Court, but that this jurisdiction will be concurrent (complementary).