EnactedStage in the legislative process — click for what it means113/2022Official bill number / year
Family Courts Bill 2022
- Sponsor
- Minister for Justice
- Introduced
- 1 Dec 2022
- Last updated
- 18 Nov 2024
What this bill doesAI · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001
- Establishes three specialized family court divisions—Family High Court, Family Circuit Court, and Family District Court—within existing court structures to handle family law proceedings.
- Assigns judges to family courts based on suitability for family law; Principal Judges serve minimum 4-year terms; ordinary judges serve minimum 3-year terms and may request reassignment.
- Requires courts to apply guiding principles including child welfare prioritization, encouraging alternative dispute resolution, and conducting proceedings informally without wigs or gowns.
Stage timelineWhat do these stages mean?
- First Stage26th Seanad1 Dec 2022
- Second Stage26th Seanad2 Feb 2023
- Committee Stage26th Seanad2 Oct 2024
- Report Stage26th Seanad17 Oct 2024
- Fifth Stage26th Seanad17 Oct 2024
- Second Stage33rd Dáil24 Oct 2024
- Report Stage33rd Dáil5 Nov 2024
- Committee Stage33rd Dáil5 Nov 2024
- Fifth Stage33rd Dáil5 Nov 2024
- Cream List26th Seanad7 Nov 2024
- Enacted13 Nov 2024
Debates
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