News

Given that IPMO is only 20 months old we were thrilled to be asked by The Wheel to host a parallel session at their Summit event at Croke Park this week.

IPMO was born in a post-Covid world where mediators like everyone else had to quickly adapt to new technologies and new ways to offer mediation services. The Summit conference was an opportune moment to meet in-person with others in the voluntary sector and for IPMO to reflect on where we are going, and how the needs of our communities, particularly marginalised communities, may also meet the needs of our members. Chair of IPMO, Dr Róisín O’Shea was the MC for the event, introducing speakers Laura Gibbons who works with Dóchas, Zsé Varga from Volunteer Ireland, and Mary Connors Aldrige and Joseph Ateb from IPMO. The title of the session was ‘The opportunities that volunteering can create for multicultural Ireland’.

Mary and Joseph who lead the IPMO Community Mediation Committee spoke about the need to understand what is meant by community mediation in Ireland and explored a mutually beneficial model which meets the needs of the community to access low or no cost mediation and the need of mediators to gain practice experience before they start their professional journey.

l-r Dr Roisin O'Shea, Joseph Ateb, Mary Connors (of the IPMO), Cherif Labreche  (CEO of New Communities Partnership)

As Shane Dempsey Deputy Chair of IPMO noted, "volunteering to gain mediation experience is not a destination it is a means to gain experience in order to move on to professional practice".

Mary, a member of the Travelling Community spoke of her pathway to mediation, her recent appointment as CEO of Minceiri Port Lairge and the excellent work of the Traveller Mediation Service headed up by Chris McDonagh. Joseph spoke about coming to Ireland from Nigeria, studying law and securing a masters scholarship in mediation. Both spoke about the traditional values of their communities, the older dispute resolution culture and raising the awareness of mediation in those and other marginalised communities such as refugees, asylum seekers and immigrant communities.

Dr O’Shea facilitated a panel discussion which included guest panellist Cherif Labreche, CEO of New Communities Partnership and a Board member of the Wheel. Dr O’Shea closed the session emphasising the importance of volunteering and finding ways to attract volunteers such that organisations in the voluntary sector can thrive and communities benefit both locally and globally.

On Sunday April 23rd the Sunday Business Post reported that the Irish Professional Mediators’ Organisation have called on the Minister for Justice to lower the VAT rate on family mediation services and family law services, to at least 9%.

In 2019 Róisín O’Shea and Shane Dempsey, the current Chair and Treasurer of the IPMO, made a submission to the Joint Oireachtas Committee for Equality & Justice on reform of the family law system. In that submission they included a proposal that the VAT rate on family mediation should be reduced from 23% to no more than 9%. A journalist from the Sunday Business Post came across this 2019 proposal and reached out to ask if the Government had taken any steps to action this suggestion. The Board of IPMO had previously discussed calling again on the Government to consider this idea and last week the Board made a submission to the Minister for Finance Michael McGrath TD proposing that the State provide support to families who are going through the breakdown of a relationship or marriage by reducing Value Added Tax on family mediation fees and family law services.

Those who need the services of a family mediator, and a family law solicitor are individuals rather than businesses and therefore cannot reclaim VAT on their fees. At the current rate of 23% this is almost a quarter on top of the fees charged.

It is also the case that the majority of people engaging in mediation to agree parenting, child/spousal maintenance, and terms for separation or divorce will also need the services of a family law solicitor before they enter into a legally-binding mediation settlement or separation agreement. Therefore, separating families currently pay VAT at a rate of 23% for both their mediator and solicitor, substantially increasing the total costs. This extra cost likely depresses demand for mediation of marital separation, which the government is actively trying to promote as an alternative to litigation.

Lowering the VAT rate for both family mediation and family law services to at least 9% would have an immediate beneficial effect on the thousands of families experiencing marital separation, which are already impacted by the cost of living crisis.

IPMO looks forward to discussing this proposal further with the Minister.

The link to the Sunday Business Post article is below: 

https://www.businesspost.ie/news/couples-divorcing-should-be-spared-penal-vat-charges-mcgrath-told/

The Board of IPMO are pleased to announce the creation of a discounted student membership fee for those who are studying mediation. Students who are undertaking a mediation programme at third level can join IPMO for a fee of €20 which will allow student members to attend some IPMO member sessions and events.

Student members will receive the IPMO Bulletin which will announce which events student members can attend. It is an excellent opportunity for those studying mediation to be involved in interactive events with established mediators and those starting their mediation practice. IPMO is holding a series of events on the week of November 7th to 11th for International Mediation Awareness week which kicks off with a workshop on ‘Putting your best professional foot forward’ on starting your mediation practice; followed by another of our ‘In conversation with’ informal interviews where Dr Roisin O’Shea the Chair of IPMO speaks to international mediators about their professional journey.

All sessions/events are on Zoom .

To join the IPMO as a "Friend of IPMO (Student)", click here. 

Remember that you may be asked for proof of enrolment. 

To mark the first anniversary of the Irish Professional Mediators' Organisation, we are hosting a series of online webinars for our members. 

The "In Conversation With" series will see international mediators interviewed in a conversational style by the IPMO's chair, Dr Roisin O'Shea. The purpose is to give mediators who are starting out an understanding of how experienced mediators developed their professional skills. 

To learn more, join the IPMO

Chair of IPMO and Partner in Arc Mediation Dr Roisin O'Shea was invited to speak at a webinar hosted by the ADR Institute of Alberta and the Foundation of Administrative Justice on February 17th 2022.

Support for the regulation of mediation in Canada has waxed and waned over the years. Many Canadian practitioners agree that some form of oversight is needed although many cannot agree why. One of the strongest arguments against regulation is the cost involved to set up regulatory bodies which would likely mean higher professional membership fees for mediators. But there is more than one way to consider regulation and in this webinar Dr Roisin O'Shea and Paul Pierse from Ireland speak about their experience in Ireland post the commencement of the Mediation Act, 2017, what changes it brought and what work still needs to be done.

https://www.adralberta.com/irish-mediation-act-2017/

The official press launch of our organisation is taking place this week.  Dr Róisín O’Shea is the first Chair of the IPMO and makes the following announcement on behalf of our Board.  

"I am very excited to announce the arrival of our new professional membership organisation for mediators, the Irish Professional Mediators’ Organisation, ‘IPMO’, a non-profit CLG. We have an amazing and diverse Board of experienced mediators and industry experts who are passionately committed to the development of mediation as a profession in Ireland, and we are already working with members to bring mediation front and centre as the best dispute resolution option.

Conflict is inevitable and can be found everywhere, varying in duration, intensity and scale. In Ireland and internationally there is both a growing recognition and re-embracing of mediation as more often than not the best forum to try and resolve a dispute.

My first introduction to peace-making was during informal meetings with George Mitchell and the American team during the Good Friday negotiations in the early 1990s. His patient and pragmatic approach, taking one bite-sized piece of the issues at a time, made a lasting impression on me and underpins my own work as a mediator today. We are reminded of how fragile lasting peace can be when significant change brings about new conflict, as has happened with Northern Ireland and Brexit, but through negotiation there is always a way to seek compromise, and it is our role as mediators to move disputants away from ultimatums or all or nothing thinking towards compromise and workable solutions.

As Chair of IPMO I bring 12 years of mediation experience having completed hundreds of cases and alongside that work I have carried out research in the Irish Courts to try and understand why families seek solutions through litigation. In case after case, I observed Judges recommending mediation and State policy also supports the use of mediation for civil disputes. The introduction of legislation to place mediation on a statutory footing is a very welcome initiative, but the Mediation Act 2017 is not a sticking plaster for the core problem of persuading people away from the courts and towards mediation. That is a job of work that IPMO will tackle, we must help the public to imagine themselves trying mediation where they self-determine their own solutions rather than handing over decision-making to a third-party authority.

The formation of the Mediation Council of Ireland is a key component of the Mediation Act 2017, its role including the promotion of public awareness of mediation, maintaining and developing mediation standards and setting up a national register of mediators. The establishment of that Council is imminent which is why IPMO needed to come into being. There are 5 seats on that Council to represent the interests of mediators and mediation services, and as one of only 2 professional membership bodies for mediators in Ireland we are seeking a seat. The work of the Mediation Council will be crucial to the development of mediation in Ireland and the IPMO team have the skills, knowledge, and enthusiasm to work to achieve a future Ireland where mediation is always the first preference for dispute resolution. "

- Chair of IMPO Dr Róisín O’Shea  

Photo: The Board of IPMO: Top row L-R Dr Róisín O’Shea, Marie Casey, Ercus Stewart SC, Anastasia Ward, Fredericka Sheppard. Bottom row L-R Joseph Ateb, Penelope McRedmond, Mary Connors Aldrige, Shane Dempsey, Gareth Leech

Dr Roisin O'Shea, Chair of the Irish Professional Mediators Organisation CLG, has been selected as a Judge for the 17th ICC International Commercial Mediation Competition.

Students from Universities and Colleges all over the world will compete on 48 teams, their performance being evaluated by some of the world's leading Dispute Resolution specialists who participate as judges. The competition is an annual educational event that seeks to encourage the effective use of mediation and the open exchange of ideas, experience and know-how between students and professionals from different countries, cultures, generations and backgrounds. In commenting on her appointment Dr O' Shea said

"I am delighted to be selected as a judge and fully support the aims of this international event which places an emphasis on cultural diversity in line with a key objective of IPMO. Our organisation through our Supervision and Mentorship programmes also supports the exchange of ideas and experience between experienced mediators and new entrants, which transitions newly qualified mediators into professional practice. The support provided by experienced mediators will help develop the professional service of mediation in Ireland and will ensure that the users of mediation will ultimately benefit". 

The event which will take place from February 7th to 15th 2022 is run by the International Chamber of Commerce, 'ICC', who have over 100 years of experience in devising rules to govern and facilitate the conduct of international business. 

Welcome to the website of the Irish Professional Mediators' Organisation (IPMO). The IPMO were set up by mediators, legal and HR professionals to further the professional development of mediation in Ireland. We are a rapidly growing organisation with more than 50 members as of the launch of our website. 

You can learn about our organisation, its Board of Directors and Committees here. 

Interested parties can learn about our membership categories and apply to be members of the IPMO here. Stakeholders who aren't mediators can join our organisations as "Friends of IPMO" which will enable them to help influence the professionalisation of mediation in Ireland. 

Details of events for the public and our members will be publicised on our Events page.