The consultation, running until 11 June 2021, will inform the oversight group which has been tasked with driving the modernisation of family justice in Ireland, including the establishment of the new family courts structure.

A further consultation later this summer will seek the views of children and young people for the first time.

Hildegarde Naughton, minister of state with special responsibility for civil and criminal justice, said: “This consultation process will support the Family Justice Oversight Group, which is chaired by the Department of Justice, as it drafts a Family Justice Strategy to help us bring about these much needed reforms.”

She added: “Children and young people have unique and important experiences of the family justice system. A separate consultation will be carried out with them later this year to capture their experiences – the first time the Department of Justice has sought the views of children as part of a family justice consultation.

“We will be working closely with colleagues in the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth to draw on their expertise and ensure that the consultation is carried out in a sensitive and age appropriate manner.”