Alternative dispute resolution, as an option to the courts, must be given priority in legislation, according to the Minister for Justice.
Dermot Ahern was at the official opening yesterday of the Ormond Meeting Rooms, a dedicated centre for mediation and alternative dispute resolution near the Four Courts.
The Minister said that the Law Reform Commission, in its consultation paper in 2008, recommended that mediation and conciliation should be considered as part of a fully integrated civil justice system that includes litigation.
It also provisionally recommended that a court should be able to enforce an agreement reached through mediation or conciliation. The commission is due to produce its final report later this year.