Tuesday, 26th September 2017: “We are delighted that the Dáil has passed the Mediation Bill* this evening and that the Bill will be enacted upon the signature of the President,” stated President of the MII Sabine Walsh, “The timing of this announcement is a great boost for mediation in Ireland and comes just ahead of Mediation Awareness Week October 7th to 14th. The MII has been campaigning for such a Bill almost since the Institute’s foundation 25 years ago and the passing of the Bill represents an official recognition by the State of the contribution mediation can make to the improvement of dispute resolution systems in Ireland.”
“The Bill will make mediation more available and deliver better resolutions, at a lower cost, to those who are involved in disputes,” said Ms. Walsh. “Enactment of the Bill has the potential to divert many civil and commercial disputes from our courts and deliver major savings to individuals and the public purse.**
Enactment will also entail increased responsibilities for mediators and for our profession. We will need to raise the level of awareness about how mediation works and what it can deliver for people involved in disputes. The MII, which sets the professional standards for accredited mediators will work to improve these standards over time and to build confidence in the practise of mediation for users in the weeks, months and years ahead.”
* Please follow this link to download a copy of the Mediation Bill https://www.oireachtas.ie/documents/bills28/bills/2017/2017/B20a17d.pdf
**Potential Cost Savings associated with enactment of the Mediation Bill
The MII estimates that legal costs in relation to civil cases in 2011 are estimated to have been €1.17 billion – a huge figure considering our current financial situation. This figure is calculated from figures contained in the 2011 Court’s Services Annual Report. The formula takes costs claimed by the winning party, multiplies this by two to get the costs for both sides of the case and then takes account of the fact that 90 per cent of civil cases are settled before Court. The MII has estimated that litigation costs relating to civil cases in 2010 was €1.3 billion and in 2009 it was €1.2 billion.
About The Mediators’ Institute of Ireland
The Mediators’ Institute of Ireland is the professional association for Mediators in Ireland. It is a not-for-profit organisation whose mission is to promote the use of quality mediation by ensuring the highest standards of education, training, professional practice and regulation.
The Mediators' Institute of Ireland is a company limited by guarantee and registered in Dublin, Ireland.
Its registration number is 418250.
Registered Office: Unit 2.1, The Distillers Building, Smithfield, Dublin 7, Ireland.
Registered Charity: CHY16996.
About Mediation
Mediation is a voluntary process of conflict prevention and resolution that allows the parties an opportunity to address their issues in a confidential, private, and safe environment. Mediators are trained in conflict resolution skills and techniques and have the expertise needed to give people the best possible opportunity to resolve their disputes.
Mediation is effective:
The mediation process improves communication, narrows outstanding issues, defuses emotions and defines areas of agreement. Statistics show a success rate for mediation averaging 80 per cent.
For further information see www.themii.ie or contact Stiofán Nutty at +353 87 6175488
The MII accredits mediation training courses which meet set training standards. The following training programmes have been recognised as MII approved training programmes.
The purpose of CPD is to ensure that Mediators keep their knowledge and skills up to date for the benefit of users of their service and for their own personal and professional development.
