Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The low take-up across the EU is principally because the availability of this facility is not known in many member states. There is also an issue where oral hearings are required. Individuals may not want to travel and incur the expense of such hearings for small claims. The cost of travel and accommodation may offset any benefit to be accrued by engaging in this procedure, which is why the use of electronic means in the context of videoconferencing and so on will increase usage. The translation cost of documentation required to make a claim in another member state is also an issue that arises and I have referenced the variance in fees in member states.

With regard to where the Commission gets its projections from, it has made an impact assessment based on certain assumptions, including that fees will not pose a barrier to bringing applications and there will be greater knowledge of the availability of this service among individuals who get caught up in minor legal conflicts in a financial sense, which are important to them.

I have an open mind on the €10,000 threshold but it is unlikely it will settle at that figure because it is high. The recent changes effected to our District Courts increased their jurisdiction from IR£5,000 or €6,350 to €15,000. A threshold of €10,000 is on the high side but I have an open mind on where it should settle and I am open to being persuaded. It should be not less than €5,000 but this will be discussed by the working groups and an accommodation will be reached. I will not be upset if is €6,000 and it would be workable at €5,000 but it is inevitable it will be lower than €10,000.

With regard to numbers, resources and capacity, the reality is the Courts Service, like all other parts of the justice family, has had to reorganise and use its resources with greater efficiency and ensure it effects financial savings. The service has not been entirely immune to budgetary reductions, though it has been substantially protected from them. The decrease in funding to the service compared to other sections within the justice family has been small. Even without this measure, I am currently considering an increase in our Small Claims Court jurisdictional level. It has been €2,000 for some years. It was at that level when the District Court was at the level I mentioned earlier and now that has been increased to €15,000. However, I do not want to create confusion by amending our jurisdiction and then discovering in nine months that I have to change it again because of the outcome of discussions at European level. We are examining that. If the discussion on this instrument was not taking place, I would be tempted in the next few weeks to increase the Small Claims Courts jurisdiction to between €3,000 and €5,000 because the cost of goods and services is increasing. Where one might have spent €1,500 or €1,800 on something six or seven years ago, today one might spend €2,200 or €2,300. Our small claims jurisdiction is too low but it would create terrible confusion if I increased it now only to find I had to do so again in a year.

I am very conscious, however, that it takes considerable time for even the most worthy European instruments to be processed to a conclusion. The likelihood of this being completed, between the engagement of the European Parliament, the working group and the Ministers, before the elections to the European Parliament is limited. There must be some uncertainty as to whether it will conclude before there is a new Commission. I want to discuss this with my officials. If there is no possibility that this could become operational for 18 months to two years, there is a benefit in our increasing the jurisdiction, at least to a modest extent, of our Small Claims Court. I expect the Courts Service will make appropriate adjustments to accommodate that, for the blindingly obvious reason that if the matter is not dealt with in the Small Claims Court, it will go to the District Court proper and the service will have to accommodate it.

This is an attempt to make justice more accessible to, and less expensive for, citizens and residents in this country and for business. The Small Claims Court has been a very useful location in which to deal with issues in a more efficient and less expensive way.