Pádraig Mac Lochlainn (Donegal North East, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

We would not disagree regarding repeat offenders and someone who is a repeated threat to their community. If we could bring in legislation on a sentencing council and sentencing guidelines that is similar to what is in Great Britain, that would help. We can give a framework to the Judiciary. I appreciate the point that we are not in sole control of incarceration but I will throw it out there. I am not looking for a detailed exchange. The Irish Penal Reform Trust invited the Honourable Mr. Justice Colman Treacy over from Great Britain last year and he met the committee. The system in Great Britain is very impressive.

I looked at it again recently but I will leave that aside.

We do not want to go below the 13,000 threshold and there is a period needed to train gardaí. I see that the travel budget has increased and I presume that reflects the closure of Garda stations and the need to have more mobile patrols moving around. The Minister's and Commissioner's argument about going back to the days of the RIC and police officers on bicycles is a strong one but they need to replace the garda in the 750 stations, and the 140 that have been closed, with more mobile patrols and vehicles. The feedback I get says that is not necessarily happening. What are the Minister's views on that?

The Minister says he is considering an attachment of earnings or social welfare for the payment of fines. I understand that the property tax legislation allows for a deduction from social welfare. One of the things that angers the public is that when some people receive a fine they are happy to go to jail for a few days rather than pay the fine which makes a mockery of the legal system. There is a saying "pay no fine, do the time". Regardless of who the citizen is there has to be some mechanism of making him or her pay instead of going to jail unless that is absolutely necessary.

I welcome the court of appeal referendum later this year but the courts system is very clogged up, not just at the higher level in the Supreme Court. There is a considerable backlog at the European Court of Justice too. What are the Minister's thoughts on separating family law from civil law as he intends to do? How do we ensure that we have separate court systems that run efficiently? People face huge costs. One can talk about the legal services regulation Bill but if the system makes people wait a long time, stress and resentment will build up, as will legal costs. What is the Minister's vision for reforming the system from the Circuit Court and District Court right up to the top?