Campaigners seeking in-camera rule changes to attend Leinster House meeting

It comes as a family law reporting project in the family courts is getting underway, as the idea of seeking to address the in-camera rule is gaining traction amid concern that it helps to protect domestic violence abusers. File Picure: Larry Cummins

Activists calling for changes to the in-camera rule — court proceedings held in private — will meet with TDs and senators in Leinster House on Tuesday.

They include family law practitioners and birth mother advocates, and are being hosted by Independent TDs Paul Gogarty and Mattie McGrath on behalf of the All-Party Group on Family Law Reform.

Among the speakers will be family law barristers Laoise de Brun and Lisa Ann Wilkinson of the Right to Transparency campaign, which launched earlier this year.

Ms Wilkinson also co-chairs SiSi, a collective of women survivors of intimate partner abuse.

Finbar Markey and Anna Kavanagh MA, co-authors of Justice for Birth Mothers: The Fight Against Forced Separation in Modern Ireland, will also speak.

Balance of privacy and transparency

A statement from the All-Party Group on Family Law Reform said: “The briefing comes at a time of growing debate about transparency, accountability, and public confidence in the family justice system. While the in-camera rule exists to protect the privacy of children and families, questions continue to be raised about whether the current balance between privacy and transparency is achieving its intended purpose.”

It comes as a family law reporting project in the family courts is getting underway, as the idea of seeking to address the in-camera rule is gaining traction amid concern that it helps to protect domestic violence abusers.

The Right to Transparency campaign launched on March 8, on International Women’s Day. Its priorities include reform of the in-camera rule and regulation of assessors providing reports for family law cases.

There are also concerns that perpetrators of domestic violence can obtain custody or access to their children despite their abuse.