The vast majority of applications for custody, access or guardianship of children are granted in the District Court, a new family law study shows.
Last year just 3 per cent of the 5,000 applications for custody and access were refused, while 28 per cent were withdrawn or struck out. The remaining 69 per cent of applications were granted.
Similar figures were recorded among applications for the guardianship of children.
The statistics are contained in Family Law Matters, the latest in a series of Court Service reports aimed at throwing new light on family law proceedings, which are not open to the public.
The report examines in detail dozens of family law cases that were heard before the District Court and the Circuit Court over the summer. It shows that guardianship applications, often accompanied by applications for custody or disputes about access, form a significant part of the work of the District Court.
Applications for maintenance also account for a significant volume of family law cases among married and unmarried couples. Of the 4,200 applications for maintenance last year, 2,900 were granted, 1,200 were withdrawn or struck out, while just 94 were refused.
Maintenance applications ranged from women seeking small amounts of money from unemployed fathers, to couples either separated or divorced having their maintenance issues dealt with by the courts.
Overall, there were 20,900 family law applications in the District Court last year, split evenly between child-related applications and domestic violence.
While some of these applications may be repeat applications for the same family dispute, the report says the figures show the "enormous volume" of family law processed by the District Courts.
In one commuter town a judge showed a family law reporter his lists for a period showing that 70 applications in one day was by no means exceptional.
"The judge told the reporter this was not a satisfactory service where the lives and the welfare of children were at stake. Judges were being put in a position where they could not give cases a long period for hearing, leaving people feeling that hugely important matters in their lives were not being respected and appreciated by the courts system," the report notes.
The report also examines a number of ways to reduce litigation in family law cases, such as mediation.
Writing in Family Law Matters, Karen Erwin, president of the Mediators Institute, says the benefit of mediation is that it encourages both parties to work together for the common good of themselves and their families.
Mediation, a process in which an independent third party facilitates negotiation and promotes voluntary decision-making by the parties to assist them to reach a mutually acceptable solution, was used by up to 1,500 couples last year.
However, she said, there was an apparent lack of awareness by parties and their advisers of the availability of mediation.
She suggested a number of measures to combat this such as an awareness campaign; a move to make mediation agreements recognisable and enforceable by the courts; and a high standard of regulation and training of mediators.
The report also examines a pilot project in Co Limerick that involves the use of case conferences to prepare family law cases for hearing.
These meetings - chaired by the Limerick county registrar Pat Meghen, and which involve the parties and their legal representatives - seek to narrow the issues in dispute in a less adversarial setting than the court.
Mr Meghen said these meetings, which are confidential, create an informal atmosphere in which parties are much more likely to secure agreement across a range of issues.
"People aren't looking for everything.
"They know what the other side is looking for and that takes the heat out of the situation," Mr Meghen said.
"Two parties may, for example, agree on issues like custody of their child and agreeing to a independent valuer placing a price on the family home."
