James Lawless (Kildare North, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank Ms Matthews. That is an important point well made.

I will move to the second round because all members who wished to get in on the first round have now had an opportunity to do so. A couple of members have indicated they wish to put supplementary questions, as do I. We generally allocate five minutes for the follow-up round. Our meeting is due to conclude at 5.30 p.m. sharp and we are on course for that. There are two speakers indicating and I will close the meeting after that, unless someone else indicates beforehand.

My question is probably for Ms Denning but anyone in a position to take it can do so. A few others made the point that the pandemic brought some benefits where court management is concerned. The prisoner location was one that was mentioned. I forget who made the point earlier but it was a very valid one, namely, one of the prior frustrations of anyone attending court, be they a practitioner, witness, defendant or plaintiff, is the difficulty of waiting around to find out at what time a matter might be heard. During Covid we have had, possibly for the first time, staggered lists so that a slot might be given between midday and 1 p.m., between 2 p.m. and 3 p.m., between 2.30 p.m. and 3.30 p.m., or whenever it might be. That gives an awful lot more clarity and, dare I say, productivity, to all involved because a day or half a day is not spent waiting only to find out at the last minute a matter has been adjourned. I stress the management of lists is a very positive thing.

On a related note, there is the use of remote call-overs and some motions being taken remotely. I suppose there is a hybrid model emerging now, no different to how we do it in the Oireachtas, whereby there is accommodation for some matters being taken in person and some being taken in a hybrid sense. Again, it strikes me that might be very practical, not to mention environmentally friendly, but also family-friendly. There are many benefits to the remote access model and it would seem to make sense.

Related to those two points, are the staggered lists and the hybrid model with remote call-overs and motions where possible going to continue? The flipside of that coin is whether it is envisaged that social distancing will no longer be required in courtrooms. When will our courtrooms return to "normal"? Will the new normal be the continuation of the hybrid model?