Official ‘concerned’ about family law court reports costing €4,000

A top Department of Justice official has expressed concern that expert reports giving voice to the child in family law proceedings cost up to €4,000.

Conan McKenna, the deparment’s assistant secretary, told the Legal Aid Board’s annual conference last week that “this was never what was intended or envisaged” by legislation enacted in the wake of the Children’s Referendum in 2012. McKenna heads up civil law reform in the department.

While outlining the ...