Adapting to mediation online: the Irish experience

Abstract

This article contrasts the use of online mediation in Ireland from February 2019, prior to the Covid-19 pandemic in March 2020, and from then until March 2021. It considers the context for online mediation in Ireland, the challenges to the mediation process, the experience of online mediation from the perspectives of mediators and participants in mediation. Sharing these experiences informs future decisions as to how technology might best be integrated into mediation practice in the longer term.
The experience of 13 mediators indicates that there are challenges due to familiarity with technology for mediators and participants, and challenges to power balancing and confidentiality. In Ireland, although platforms such as Zoom played a major role, use of the telephone in the mediation process also increased. An online mediation competence framework for mediators is proposed.