Community mediation ‘under-funded’, study says

Research published today (11 November) has found that there are significant gaps in the delivery and resourcing of community mediation in Ireland.

Community mediation enables parties dealing with disputes to engage in working out their difficulties through a face to face meeting and negotiation at a local level.  

The report urges Government and policy-makers to ensure that the method is funded and promoted to the same level as family and commercial mediation. 

The research was commissioned by independent community-law centre Community Law and Mediation (CLM) and authored by Dr Heidi Riley from UCD’s School of Politics and International Relations. 

“While Ireland supports a fully funded and universal family-mediation service, access to mediation in community contexts, such as neighbourhood disputes or conflicts between community groups, remains limited,” the report states, adding that community mediation remains under-funded. 

Barriers 

It finds that there is “significant yet largely untapped” potential for community mediation to prevent and resolve disputes in a range of areas. 

The study also finds that there is “insufficient promotion” of mediation at the community level as an alternative dispute-resolution mechanism. 

Barriers to uptake include “a general lack of understanding” among some communities about what mediation is and what it involves. 

“This gap in knowledge also extends to limited awareness of the ethical principles underpinning the practice, which can lead to concerns about confidentiality or impartiality,” the report states. 

Mediation Council 

It sets out a series of recommendations relating to the role of the Mediation Council, improving access to mediation, expanding and diversifying mediation services, considering the potential to adopt violence-prevention models, and safeguarding vulnerable parties. 

The Mediation Act 2017 stipulates the development of an independent Mediation Council, which has yet to be set up, to promote public awareness of mediation in the State. 

The report calls for support for the council in establishing ethical guidelines that balance regulation with flexibility to meet diverse needs, as well as the development of funding streams for mediation services through the new body. 

“Mediation is a vital but often under-used tool in conflict resolution, prevention, and in improving community relations, yet knowledge of what mediation is, and access to mediation services, continues to be limited,” said Dr Riley. 

Investment 

CLM chief executive Aoife Kelly-Desmond pointed out that the report coincided with preliminary findings from Ireland’s first Legal Needs Survey, which showed that neighbour disputes and housing were among the most common justice problems people faced. 

She added that the research would also help inform work on reform of the Civil Legal Aid Scheme. 

CLM’s community-mediation service helps community and family members resolve a range of disputes. 

Kelly-Desmond said that the law centre would like to see investment in community-mediation services beyond the State-funded family-mediation service for separating couples so that CLM could expand and diversify its services.