ADDRESS BY MARY ROBINSON AT THE OPENING OF THE INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON MEDIATION IN IRELAND
TUESDAY, 2 NOVEMBER, 1993.
The ending of any relationship is an occasion of sadness, especially where the relationship had begun as most do, in optimism and love, and has involved a substantial sharing of the partners lives with each other. The task of the mediation service and for that matter of the law, should be to try to minimise that sadness and pain and to enable both partners to agree if at all possible on the best terms on which they will part. A mediation service has a crucial role to play here.
A solution to which both partners can agree and which will enable them both to get on with the rest of their lives is much more effective, in my view, than a solution imposed by an Order of a Judge or a Court. I do not wish to suggest that judicial remedies are not often appropriate, however, the financial costs of pursuing a legal remedy for average families in this country can be very onerous.
This is where a mediation service can play such an important part and can have such a beneficial effect on what is after all a personal tragedy and disappointment for the people directly involved. It is my belief that a mediated solution to the terms under which partners agree to separate or divorce is far more effective than a solution which is imposed, however understanding and caring a court may try to be.
It is an unfortunate reality that marital breakdown is a factor in the lives of very many people and regrettably an increasingly frequent one. Coping with this most stressful period in a person's life requires the involvement of many people - mediators, the legal profession, court officials, judges and government Agencies.
It is important for the sake of those in difficulty that all of those organisations work in harmony to lessen the strain on the people concerned. I have no doubt that the Mediation Service is a welcome addition to those already working in the field of marital breakdown.
I would like to express to all those engaged in mediation my appreciation of the work they are doing. It would be appropriate to avail of this opportunity to pay public tribute to them.
All have given unselfishly of their time, energy and expertise. Their reward is the knowledge that they are contributing greatly to the development of a caring society by advancing the concept of mediation as an alternative, in appropriate cases, to litigation in situations where partners in a marriage have arrived at the painful conclusion that they should separate.