Four new family mediation centres for separating couples are planned

Four new Family Mediation Service centres are to be opened following the announcement yesterday that a further £600,000 is to be made available by the Government. It is understood two of the new centres will be in Cork and Dundalk.

The service, which assists couples to reach agreement on all issues relating to separation, already has centres in Dublin and Limerick.

Yesterday the Minister for Social, Community and Family Affairs, Mr Ahern, whose Department is responsible for the service, introduced a series of six information leaflets covering such matters as the end of a marriage and what to tell the children. The event, he said, was "the first step in a major drive to highlight awareness of the Family Mediation Service."

Last year 379 couples were assisted by the service, which helps those separating reach agreement on issues such as continuing parenting roles, living arrangements, the family home, maintenance, and marital assets. The service is free, professional, confidential, and out-of-court, but does not involve itself in marriage counselling.

In providing the additional £600,000 this year to the service, Mr Ahern has trebled its funding. He has also provided £850,000 for the setting up of a new Family Affairs Unit in the Department, which will cover areas such as research on family policy and parenting, among other matters.

The unit will also be responsible for co-ordinating the implementation of the final report from the Commission on the Family, which will be presented to the Minister shortly. The Department will also be providing £600,000 more for marriage counselling and another £700,000 for family and community resource centres.

The Minister complimented the Family Mediation Service yesterday on the high standard of professionalism of its mediators, and on reducing its waiting time from 10 months to where it can now offer appointments once both partners confirm a willingness to attend.

The Commission on the Family has urged greater use of family mediation as a non-adversarial approach to the resolution of issues concerning marital breakdown.

The Mediators Institute of Ireland yesterday paid tribute to "the sterling work" of the Family Mediation Service and said it was particularly pleased at Government recognition of mediation as a means of resolving issues arising from separation.