Report calls for dedicated Family Law Court

A new report has called for the establishment of a dedicated Family Law Court in Ireland.

It also recommended more supports for parents with intellectual disabilities.

The report analysed 1,200 cases over the past three years and found that a disproportionate amount of cases before the courts involved parents who suffer from disabilities or mental health problems.

Launching the report, Chief Justice Susan Denham said that more supports should be given to parents with intellectual disabilities who find themselves before the courts.

She said: "There is a link between these problems and a neglect which results in children being taken into care.

"The effect on children is absolutely harrowing."

The report makes a number of recommendations for reform to Child Care law here.

The most important of them is the establishment of a family law court, according to Noleen Blackwell from the Free Legal Advice Centre.

Ms Blackwell said: "In family law cases, people are at their most vulnerable - parents, children, grandmothers, everybody involved."