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	Chief Justice Susan Denham has highlighted a call for a dedicated family court, with appropriate facilities in dedicated court houses, as a matter of priority.</p>
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	Ms Justice Denham was speaking at the launch of the Final Report of the Child Care Law Reporting Project, which criticises crowded court houses where lack of privacy undermines the dignity of parties and causes them additional stress.</p>
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	The Chief Justice told the launch of the report that child-protection issues, including the reporting of cases where applications are made to take children into care, should be at the forefront of our national agenda at all levels.</p>
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	She noted that the team, led by Dr Carol Coulter, had over the past three years found that more than half of the almost 1,300 cases examined featured mental or cognitive disability on the part of the parent or of the child, alcohol or drug abuse by one or both parents, cultural differences or allegations of sexual abuse.</p>
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	Justice Denham noted its highlighting of a lack of suitable and appropriate services for vulnerable parents who need targeted support.</p>
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	Noting that the vast majority of the cases are heard in District Courts, the Chief Justice has noted the report&#39;s call for a dedicated Family Court.</p>
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	Dr Coulter this morning said that the current situation, with cases heard in the District Court, means there is not enough time to ensure they get the kind of attention they deserve.</p>
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	&quot;Family law is kind of shoehorned in there often with as many as up to a hundred cases in one day, including both child care and domestic violence and maintenance and all the rest.</p>
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	&quot;Those cases cannot possibly get the kind of hearing and the kind attention they deserve in these very, very crowded lists.&quot;</p>
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	She said the child and family industry is stretched and does not have enough social workers.</p>
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	She added that services for people with cognitive or mental health issues don&#39;t lie with the child and family agency but with the HSE and these services are inadequate.</p>
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	Dr Coulter said mental health and disability services are completely inadequate.</p>
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	&quot;We know of many instances where people actually sought help for mental health problems and were not able to get it in a timely fashion, perhaps over the weekend.</p>
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	&quot;And there have been one or two tragedies here where children have been hurt or even killed as a result of this.</p>
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	&quot;This is not to be laid at the door of the child and family agency or even the courts. It shows that our mental health services and also our disability services for people with cognitive disabilities really are inadequate.&quot;</p>
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	She added that more training in cultural diversity was needed and that there was a need to find out why Traveller children are more likely to end up in care.</p>
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	<a href="http://www.rte.ie/news/2015/1130/750204-family-court/">http://www.rte.ie/news/2015/1130/750204-family-court/</a></p>
