A professional mediation service should be available countrywide for couples who are separating, the Commission on the Family recommends in its interim report.
Mediation can be an "important tool" in enabling couples to negotiate separation without "unnecessary acrimony and bitterness it says.
The commission was chaired by a Cork based GP, Dr Michael Dunne, who has served as chairman of the Irish College of General Practitioners.
The report recommends a professional and adequately resourced mediation service with adequate numbers of trained mediators and proper facilities for consultation.
There is also a "significant role" for the greater use of early counselling services to assist couples, where possible, in resolving their difficulties, it says.
It recommends the establishment of a standing committee to identify types of counselling needed and areas where an appropriate range of counselling services is not available.
Many families who have suffered marital breakdown told the commission about their difficulties in family courts with delays, adjournments and dissatisfaction with the outcome of proceedings.
There is a need to plan and develop an infrastructure for the courts as new legislation is being formulated, the report concludes.