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Parliamentary question - E-007872/2017Parliamentary question
E-007872/2017

Irish Mediation Act

Question for written answer E-007872-17
to the Commission
Rule 130
Luke Ming Flanagan (GUE/NGL)

In relation to the Mediation Act (No 27) of 2017, a recently enacted reform in the Republic of Ireland:

Is this law, which is designed to facilitate non-litigious dispute resolution, compatible with EC laws and directives?

Can the Commission determine whether the new statute is sufficiently robust to have a positive benefit for citizens of Ireland, or whether in the section listing exclusions (Section 3) and in the law generally, there are weaknesses relative to what EU directives require?

There was another reform in Ireland which featured in the memorandum of understanding agreed in 2010, and which has been enacted as of this year. This bill was first published in 2010 and subsequently enacted in 2015 as the Legal Services Regulation Act (No 65) of 2015. Will the Commission examine whether the Mediation Act is sufficiently beneficial to citizens in Ireland who continue to face very high legal fees with limited access to a system of free legal aid?

Observations from the Irish media are available to assist the Commission in making its analysis[1],[2].