Why Mediation is now the first option

Opening address by Chair Dr Róisín O’Shea IPMO Conference April 16th 2026 at the Dublin Dispute Resolution Centre

The IPMO is but a toddler, 4 ½ years old, born in a post covid landscape, where on-line services became normative and the mediation sector had to quickly innovate and embrace new technologies; Our organisation wants to ensure that the profession evolves to meet the needs of the public, while improving competency through a framework of Apprenticeship, Supervision and Mentorship.

We are once again in a time of global disruption. Every day it seems there is something new to worry about; whether it is the break-down of international law, or disruption to fuel supplies, or AI changing forever the way we work, or another story in the media of man’s inhumanity to man. In speaking of the fading of the rules based international order in his address at Davos in January this year, Mark Carney, the Prime Minister of Canada spoke of the beginning of a harsh reality in the world order, “…we are in the midst of a rupture, not a transition”

Conflict is human, but we are not powerless in the face of it. We have the capacity to find a new way forward, to adapt and transition out of the stressful space we stand in, on to a new path with solutions that are workable and fair. This is where mediators can help us.

In Ireland we boldly stepped into the new frontier of 21st Century dispute resolution with the enactment of the Mediation Act 2017, leading the way on the world stage with a statutory framework for the service of mediation. This progressive Act promotes the early use of mediation to resolve all civil disputes, and even where litigation has already started the Act enables the parties to step away from the Courts to try mediation, right up until a final determination is made by a Judge. Crucially we have the statutory basis for confidentiality and enforceability of mediation settlements. It was an absolute pleasure to co-author a paper on the enforcement of mediation settlements with Michael Peart, Former Court of Appeal Judge and barrister Stephen O’Herlihy, which is in the current issue of the Irish Journal of Family Law - addressing a misconception that mediated agreements cannot be legally binding – which is not the case.

Judges have long advocated for the use of mediation – however, it is the higher courts that have the power to truly bring about change, and we are honoured to have the Hon Mr Justice David Barniville, President of the High Court as our conference keynote speaker (See Irish Times article about his keynote speech) and the Hon Ms Justice Nuala Jackson as a panellist.

The Honourable Justice David Barniville, President of the High Court

The tipping point and inspiration for this conference came in the July 2025 High Court case of V Media Doo & Anor v Techads Media Limited [2025] IEHC 430 where Justice Michael Twomey, said that the aim of the Oireachtas under section 14 of the Mediation Act 2017, is “

…to ensure that litigation is the last resort, rather than a first resort, in order to save prospective litigants tens/hundreds of thousands of euros in legal costs and the many years of lost time and effort.”

This case sets an important benchmark for any Court hearing any civil dispute, (including separations or divorce), that a hearing should only commence where the Judge is satisfied the plaintiffs have been comprehensively advised on mediating rather than litigating their dispute. The Judge noted the importance the Act places on plaintiffs being advised on the benefits of mediation, “…before the client ends up on what might be termed the merry-go-round of litigation – one that is all too easy to get on, but can be difficult to get off.”

Dr Roisin O'Shea, IPMO Chair

What we need now is for assistance from Government to get us over the final hurdle to establish the Mediation Council of Ireland  –  we, the stakeholders of the Mediation Council Shadow group are ready and we have unanimously agreed that we should adopt the European Code of Conduct for mediators as the national code of conduct, to be approved by the Minister under section 9 – all that is needed now is sufficient funding, which we have estimated as circa € 500,000 per year (a full cost model with 4 staff and some level of function delegation) to operate the Council so that it can begin its work of promoting public awareness and providing information on the availability and operation of mediation in the State.

All of us in this room know that mediation can resolve the majority of civil disputes faster, at less cost, confidentially, and often the agreement can be more creative than the Courts can order. 

Dr I. Stephanie Boyce CBE 

I also want to acknowledge two extraordinary women who have inspired and empowered me over the last two decades to take the path of advocacy and research to drive on the awareness and uptake of mediation; the Hon Ms Justice Sara Phelan and the Hon. Ms Justice Nuala Jackson. I am also delighted to see some special guests here today, long-time advocates of mediation; Michael O’Connor SC representing the ADR Committee of the Bar of Ireland and Keith Kelliher representing the Chartered Institute of arbitrators. It is important to recognise the work that Keith and also Liam Guidera representing the Law Society of Ireland have done over the years to advance the discussions to establish the Mediation Council of Ireland. We three have been at the table since the very first stakeholder meeting in late 2018.

The Mediation Act 2018 has been in place for eight years. I believe we are all finally ready for this cultural shift, where mediation becomes the very first resort in dispute resolution.