Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent) | Oireachtas source

Tá fáilte romhaibh go léir. Access to justice and legal costs is one of the most important topics. I am relatively new to this committee. I thank the Chair and the members for choosing this topic. I did have some input into the work and agenda.

Forty years have elapsed since the Airey case and it is extraordinary that we are still talking about very basic factors concerning access to justice. In three and half years my respect for the legal profession, particularly the Judiciary, has increased and my colleague seated beside me might laugh at that. However, I certainly need and see the importance of having a very independent and strong legal profession and Judiciary, which are often the last call for the citizen. Within that there is huge inequality.

I will quote the Chief Justice because we do not often have chief justices leading us. He stated:

There is little point in having a good court system, likely to produce fair results in accordance with law, if a great many people find it difficult or even impossible to access that system for practical reasons. But it has increasingly become the case that many types of litigation are moving beyond the resources of all but a few.

I ask that the witnesses in the course of answering might deal with the question of access and the comments made by the Chief Justice.

I shall start with the solicitors and the fact that a reference was made to the setting up of an office of legal costs adjudicators in the opening statement. Has the office been set up under the Act?