ON the eve of the legalisation of divorce, there are already 700 people on a waiting list, with the Legal Aid Board alone. Labour force figures suggest that more than 45,000 Irish marriages have broken down (an increase of 5,000 from last year). It is believed that many of these couples are eligible for divorce, having lived apart for the requisite period of four years. Is the legal system ready for the number of people who are going to want a divorce?

According to Anne Dunne SC, who specialises in family law, there is still a severe backlog of judicial separation cases in parts of the country, including Cork and Limerick, where people can wait up to two years to have their cases heard. The pressure will get worse with the introduction of divorce.

"We are not prepared for the explosion," concludes barrister Kieron Wood, co author of a new book entitled Divorce In Ireland. "We don't have the courts or the judges to cope."

"Even before divorce was introduced, the facilities for family law were grossly inadequate, particularly in the Circuit Court," says Anne Dunne. "The recommendations of the Law Reform Commission last year have not even been seriously considered. It is hard to understand why so little money is allocated in this area when the breakdown of the family is obviously such a fundamental problem in Irish society."

One of the recommendations of the commission was that there should be more government funded mediation facilities. "Lip service has been paid to this," says Anne Dunne. "There are very few mediators and then only in Dublin and Limerick. What about the rest of the country?"

Another recommendation was that the court should have the power to appoint an independent representative for a child whose welfare is an issue. Anne Dunne says that implementing this is difficult, given the "inadequacy of the civil legal aid scheme".

"The court can request an assessment of a child, prepared by an expert such as a child psychiatrist, but then the question of who pays arises. There could be an imbalance if one spouse can afford to pay an expert witness and the other can't. The Legal Aid Board is reluctant to pay for such experts." She says there are currently no court based probation officers to carry out such investigations.

According to Patrick O'Dea, PRO for the Probation and Welfare Branch of the trade union IMPACT, the Probation and Welfare Service provided free independent assessments for the family law courts at the request of members of the judiciary for many years (the service was involved in 364 family law cases in 1992 alone). These reports were mainly in relation to barring, custody and access application's: "They were in depth background reports to assess the relationship between the couple and the welfare of the children, as told by the children and with reference to teachers and relatives. They made recommendations to courts about custody and access arrangements.

This free service was carried out without recognition or a statutory basis. "Although the Family Law Act of 1995 acknowledges the role of these reports as central and makes statutory provision for them in family law cases, the service had to be withdrawn from the family law courts over a year ago due to lack of resources," says Patrick O'Dea. "Judges are left without a neutral person to give a report. They have told me it's a nightmare trying to make decisions without a report."

According to a spokesperson for the Department of Justice, the question of providing additional staffing for the family law assessments, carried out by the Probation and Welfare Service, is "under review in conjunction with the Department of Finance".

PATRICK O'Dea says: "The branch view is that Probation and Welfare Officers' role in family law would properly be accommodated within the context of a Civil Family Law Section within the Probation and Welfare Service. Although most of our work is in the criminal area, we want to have a role in family law. Everyone knows the work has to be done." This sort of professional back up is crucial, says Alan Shatter, TD. "There is a need for more court staff, like court welfare officers, to carry out assessments on children in custody cases. The needs of the customers of the court system - of separated wives, abandoned husbands and their children - are not being met."

"People have always found the family law courts wanting," says Mags O'Brien, former chairperson of the Divorce Action Group. "There's no privacy. You end up talking about your business to a barrister in a corridor." Anne Dunne agrees: "The facilities are particularly barbaric down the country. You could find yourself telling your life story to a barrister you hardly know out in the street in the wind and rain."

Opinions vary on the merits of judges. "There are some very good judges which have come to family law without specialist training but who show a great deal of sensitivity and courtesy," says Alan Shatter. "There are others who shouldn't be let within a 10 mile radius of a family law court. When it comes to custody and property disputes, how these are resolved can be affected by which judge hears the case. You could be engaging in a game of judicial roulette. Difficult decisions must be made in family law but judges must understand the impact of their decisions on the family involved. The judge is often constrained because of a shortage of time, so sensitivity may be lacking."

"Family law is a draining area," says Kieron Wood. "A rape or a murder trial is like a rest for a judge in comparison. There is so much emotional upheaval and bitterness in a family law case."

"It is important not to knock the judges," says Mags O'Brien. "A lot are good in difficult circumstances." However she believes that some are "total chauvinists", who "see things along straight, old fashioned lines, like giving custody to the mother without even trying to tease things through". She feels that more training should be made available to judges, especially in the area of domestic violence.

Barristers and solicitors, says Alan Shatter, don't always show "enough insight and understanding" either. "They must realise that the manner in which they deal with the case may impact on the behaviour of their clients - especially the children - for many years.

In terms of training, has the legal profession been given any briefing on the new divorce legislation? The Law School of the Law Society has been running seminars on divorce, primarily for solicitors. Last December, says Anne Dunne, there was a seminar especially for judges on all new legislation including divorce: "It was very well attended." On March 1st, the annual conference of the Bar Council will concentrate on the divorce legislation.

Meanwhile, the Law Reform Commission recommended that the existing in camera rules for family law cases should be modified so that researchers in family law should be allowed to attend. Kieron Wood believes that the media should be allowed to attend too: "If this were the case then judges could read about what other judges were doing. It would give a record of custody decisions and average maintenance payments. The public would have a chance to see what is going on."

ANNE Dunne disagrees that the media should be allowed in. "I think people's lives are miserable enough already without the details of their marriage breakdown being made public. Also, if people know that reporters are in the court, it could change the way they give evidence." She is not against the idea of allowing researchers into court but there would have to be a screening process "and that means extra money, which is not available".

She does not think that judges need to learn about the decisions of other judges - by reading the newspapers: "In the High Court, judges have a meeting every Friday where they discuss things and all judges are circulated with all of the judgments in every sphere of the law. There are not many written judgments in the Circuit Court but judges know what the law is and they are aware of new decisions being made."

According to a spokesperson for the Department of Justice: "The Minister for Justice has always assisted with initiatives which the judiciary has brought forward in the area of training. Funding has always been made available to judges at all levels to enable them to attend training seminars and conferences both at home and abroad.

People wishing to be considered for Judicial appointment must undertake "to take such courses of training or education as may be required by the Chief Justice or President of the Court to which that person is appointed. The Chief Justice has recently established the Judicial Studies Institute to oversee judicial training."

The Department of Justice says that there are no definite plans to appoint any new judges as a result of the new Divorce Act and points out that 17 new judges have been recently appointed in the Supreme, High, Circuit and District Courts.

Alan Shatter says that the introduction of divorce is going to place a further demand on the existing family law facilities: "The new judicial appointments have only just come to terms with the backlog of family law cases, especially in the Circuit Court. There is a fear that this jam will be recreated with the number of people looking for a divorce who will be going through the courts over the next few months. "If the introduction of divorce creates a gridlock, then perhaps the Government will be forced to do something."

Anne Dunne adds: "The legislature should ensure that, having brought the divorce statute into being, the facilities to operate it are in place, especially sufficient funds for legal aid to help people who can't help themselves. Otherwise there will be inequities in the courts."