The Voice of the Child in Mediation

Abstract

This is a revised and updated article, Kearney (2011), which considers research findings indicating children’s wishes and concerns around parental separation and their involvement in the mediation process. It looks at how Irish family mediators bring the child’s voice into the room, ensuring that the views and wishes of children are heard, when their parents are engaging in family mediation. Finally, it considers the implications of the Thirty-first Amendment of the Constitution (Children) 2012, and the Mediation Bill, due to be enacted in 2014 and possible challenges facing family mediators when these legislative instruments are enacted.