A 2018 research paper on mediation...
Mediation has formed part of the legal framework governing all-issues separation and divorce in Ireland since 1989 and family mediation services have been provided free of charge by the state since 1986 (Conneely, 2002, p.1). Nonetheless, uptake of mediation among family law disputants remains low. Just over 1,500 couples attended first mediation appointments with the state-funded Family Mediation Service in 2015 (Legal Aid Board, 2015, p. 34). A further 1,603 individuals attended a court based mediation session (Legal Aid Board, 2015, p. 34). To put these statistics in perspective, the Courts Service Annual report for 2015 records a total of 5,852 marriage law applications, and 29,582 additional general family law applications, excluding those relating to domestic violence (Courts Service, 2016, pp. 44-46). There are no available statistics for private family mediation and in the absence of specific Irish research mapping pathways through the family justice system the extent to which couples engage with mediation outside state provision is unclear, but it seems likely that, as in other jurisdictions where mediation is optional, it is a relatively small part of the family dispute resolution process (Barlow, Hunter, Smithson & Ewing, 2014, p. 6; Bastard, 2010, p. 139).