Mediation Act 2017
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PART 5 Mediation Information Sessions | ||
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Mediation information sessions in family law and succession proceedings | ||
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23. (1) The Minister may, for the purposes of ensuring that information sessions concerning mediation are available (in this Act referred to as a “mediation information session”), at a reasonable cost and in suitable locations, to parties to relevant proceedings and having had regard to the matters specified in subsection (2)— | ||
(a) prepare and publish a scheme for the delivery of such sessions, or | ||
(b) approve a scheme for the delivery of such sessions prepared by a person other than the Minister. | ||
(2) A scheme referred to in subsection (1) may include provisions in relation to any of the following: | ||
(a) the nature and operation of mediation in respect of a relevant dispute; | ||
(b) the role of the mediator in a mediation in respect of a relevant dispute; | ||
(c) the types of mediation settlements available in a mediation in respect of a relevant dispute; | ||
(d) the benefits of mediation over court-based resolutions in respect of a relevant dispute; | ||
(e) the costs of mediation; | ||
(f) a statement that legal advice may be sought by the parties at any time during the mediation. | ||
(3) Before publishing or approving a scheme under this section, the Minister shall— | ||
(a) publish a notice on the website of the Department of Justice and Equality and in at least one daily newspaper circulating generally in the State— | ||
(i) indicating that he or she intends to publish or approve a scheme under this section, | ||
(ii) indicating that a draft of the scheme is available for inspection on that website for a period specified in the notice (being not less than 30 days from the date of the publication of the notice in the newspaper), and | ||
(iii) stating that submissions in relation to the draft scheme may be made in writing to the Minister before a date specified in the notice (which shall be not less than 30 days after the end of the period referred to in subparagraph (ii)), | ||
and | ||
(b) have regard to any submissions received pursuant to paragraph (a)(iii). | ||
(4) Where the Minister prepares or approves a scheme under this section, he or she shall cause a notice of the preparation or approval to be published in Iris Oifigiúil and the notice shall specify the date from which the scheme shall come into operation. | ||
(5) Subject to subsection (6), the Minister may— | ||
(a) amend or revoke a scheme prepared or approved under this section, or | ||
(b) withdraw approval in respect of any scheme previously approved under this section. | ||
(6) The requirements of subsections (3) and (4) shall, with all necessary modifications, apply to a scheme that the Minister intends to amend or revoke or in relation to which the Minister intends to withdraw his or her approval. | ||
(7) Where the Minister amends or revokes, or withdraws his or her approval in respect of, a scheme under this section, he or she shall cause a notice to that effect to be published in Iris Oifigiúil specifying— | ||
(a) the scheme to which the amendment, revocation or withdrawal of approval, as the case may be, relates, | ||
(b) whether the scheme is to be amended or revoked or whether approval in relation to the scheme is to be withdrawn, | ||
(c) if the scheme is to be amended, particulars of the amendment, and | ||
(d) the date from which the amendment, revocation or withdrawal of approval, as the case may be, shall come into operation. | ||
(8) In this section— | ||
“relevant dispute” means a dispute the subject of relevant proceedings; | ||
“relevant proceedings” means— | ||
(a) family law proceedings, or | ||
(b) proceedings under section 67A(3) or 117 of the Succession Act 1965 . |