Ms Eilis Barry:

I am happy to deal with the question about court delays. We have argued for some time that both the Courts Service and the Legal Aid Board are central to the administration of justice and the rule of law, and need to be resourced accordingly. In effect, the majority of court proceedings were adjourned for six months, and before that there were already significant delays in a number of respects. It is our contention that the Courts Service has not been properly resourced and needs to be properly resourced. It has been very evident that huge efforts have been made to conduct urgent hearings, but what has happened in the last six months will add at least six months to the delays that are already there. While hearings are beginning to be heard, that is only happening on a slow basis. We also express concerns about online hearings being seen as a remedy to delays.

While we welcome online hearings, we do not believe that they are suitable in all cases and in relation to all litigants, particularly people with literacy or language issues, or who may have mental health conditions. In addition, the digital divide needs to be resolved and that is something that is beyond the Courts Service. Both the Courts Service and the Legal Aid Board have always been, essentially, the poor relations of the administration of justice. We are anxious that access to justice would be factored into the Government's response to the pandemic.