Guide — Ireland
By the Beacon Parenting team · Updated August 2026
The most important thing you can do before a Section 32 child welfare assessment is to have been behaving well for long enough that there is a record of it. Assessors look at patterns over time — not a single good meeting. Keep your co-parenting communication written, child-focused, and consistent. Start keeping a record now if you haven't already.
Under Section 32 of the Guardianship of Infants Act 1964, an Irish court can appoint an independent professional to prepare a report on a child's welfare, the child's own views, or both. The assessor meets each parent, spends time with the child, and contacts the services around the family — Tusla, the Gardaí, the GP, and the school — before submitting a written report to the court.
For more on what a Section 32 report involves, including the typical cost (around €3,000, usually split 50/50) and timeline (up to three months), see our guide Section 32 reports in Irish family law, written by a practising Section 32 report writer.
The most useful thing you can bring to a Section 32 process is a complete, unedited record of your co-parenting communication and arrangements — not a curated selection, but the whole picture, tamper-evidently preserved.
Assessors routinely receive printed WhatsApp screenshots from both parents — and they are aware that screenshots can be selectively chosen. A complete, chronological record from a system where nothing can be deleted by either parent carries considerably more credibility. It also shows — in a way a carefully chosen selection cannot — that you have nothing to hide.
The Beacon Co-Parenting App was built by a Section 32 report writer who has seen, first-hand, what kind of record impresses assessors and what kind does not. Every message in Beacon is permanently preserved — neither parent can delete or edit anything, ever. Handovers are confirmed on-time or late at the moment they happen. Expenses and maintenance are entered and confirmed by both parents.
The result is an audit-locked, timestamped record of the co-parenting relationship: not curated by either side, but complete and objective. Using the app is free. If you need to produce the record for court or for a Section 32 assessor, the Court-Ready Record generates a single tamper-evident PDF of the full history, with a data-integrity fingerprint (€129 for the complete history; the account history is an extra €49).
Section 32 assessors are looking at one thing above all else: what arrangement is in the best interests of this child? In practice that means examining each parent's capacity to support the child's relationship with the other parent, the quality and consistency of each parent's involvement in the child's life, the child's own views and emotional wellbeing, and any welfare or safety concerns. Communication between the parents — its tone, consistency, and focus on the child — is one of the most observable signals.
Yes. A Section 32 assessor can ask each parent for examples of co-parenting communication, and you can offer them voluntarily. In practice many parents bring printed WhatsApp conversations or email threads. A complete, dated, unedited record — not selectively printed — carries significantly more credibility. An assessor can tell the difference between a curated selection and a full honest record.
Start immediately — the moment you think proceedings involving a child welfare assessment are possible. A few weeks of records is far better than none; six months is more useful still. What you cannot do is go back in time, so the sooner you begin the longer and stronger your record will be by the time the assessor meets with you.
Do not speak negatively about your co-parent in front of the child or to the assessor in a way that seems to place your conflict above your child's needs. Do not refuse to acknowledge any difficulties. Do not try to coach the child on what to say — assessors are trained to identify this, and it reflects very badly. Be honest, child-focused, and consistent. The assessor is not looking for a perfect parent; they are looking for a cooperative one.
No. The report is one piece of evidence the judge considers — an important one, but not the only one. The judge makes the final decision on custody and access. The report writer may give evidence and be cross-examined by solicitors. Cooperating fully with the process, and behaving consistently throughout, is more important than any single conversation with the assessor.
Want to understand the Section 32 process itself?
This guide covers how to prepare. For a plain-language explanation of what a Section 32 report is, the typical cost and timeline, and who the report writer speaks to — read the companion guide written by a practising report writer.
Section 32 reports in Irish family lawThis guide is general information, not legal advice. Section 32 assessments vary by case and by assessor — always work with your solicitor on your specific situation.
Costs and timelines cited are typical figures from practice and can vary by case and by report writer.