Hugh Condron - Family Law Consultant

  Analysis of the Department of Justice Research Report  ‘ The Operation of the In Camera Rule in Family Law Proceedings’ What the report is and why it matters. The research report is a Department of Justice commissioned research report (UCC/TCD) produced as part of the Family Justice Strategy. It starts from the constitutional tension, Irish justice is presumptively administered in public, but family and child care matters are among the ‘special and limited’ categories that can be heard otherwise than in public, chiefly to protect privacy, especially the privacy of children. The central premise of the report is that the privacy objective is legitimate and should remain, but the current ‘in camera rule’ is poorly understood, unevenly applied, and insufficiently defined, with knock on effects for access to justice, accountability, and public confidence. How the research was carried out? The report uses a mixed methods design: A literature and legislative / c...

  Family Law Review for 2025 Major Reform to the Family Court System The Family Courts Act 2024 (now being implemented) . Although signed into law late in 2024, the Family Courts Act 2024 has effectively become one of 2025’s central Family Law legislative developments, although it’s full implementation is some way off. Click on the link for a free comprehensive review of the legislation Free Download It establishes dedicated Family Court divisions within the existing court system Family High Court, Family Circuit Court, and Family District Court. Judges with specialist experience will sit full time on these divisions. The Act enshrines a set of guiding principles focussed on the best interests of the child, efficiency, user friendliness, and active case management . T here is emphasis on alternative dispute resolution processes. These reforms are being rolled out progressively throughout 2025 and into early 2026, with a government imple...

  Ireland’s Proposed Rental Reforms from March 2026: What Tenants and Landlords Need to Know (Awaiting final details of the legislation) Ireland is moving toward a new rental framework that is due to begin on the 1 st of March 2026. The Government has published detailed policy documents explaining what is intended, but the final draft legislation has not yet been published. That means the broad direction is clear, but some important details may still change once the Bill is finalised and enacted. Hugh Condron hughcondron What’s already in place before March 2026? Before the proposed March 2026 reforms begin, the Residential Tenancies (Amendment) Act 2025 has already introduced a nationwide rent control approach similar to what previously applied only in Rent Pressure Zones (RPZs). In simple terms, rent controls were expanded so they apply broadly across the State during this interim period. The Residential Tenancies Board (RTB) has also published guidance on how the interim ...