Ms Angela Denning:

I will deal with the point about 7% of staff first. While it is well below the 20% average in citizens, it is quite high in terms of the public sector. The target was 2.4% in 2021, so we have risen to 7%. The target this year is 4.5% and will rise to 6% next year, so we are ahead of targets. Part of the work of the inclusion group and the way we go about recruitment is that we do a lot of recruitment ourselves at local level, which has helped us to increase our figures, so I hope it will continue to rise.

Regarding the project with AsIAm, we have looked at the Oireachtas and have spoken to staff here because the Oireachtas has become an accredited organisation. We are working with the Law Society and the Bar Council to try to get the justice sector accredited. At the most recent meeting, it was agreed we would move ahead with three pilot venues - two outside of Dublin and one in Dublin - and would do two audits of two of our largest courthouses. AsIAm would audit them to see what could be done to make those buildings more accessible for people with autism.

The last piece was remote courts. We had brought in remote technology to take expert evidence from abroad prior to Covid but it ramped up during Covid. The technology we use is Pexip. It is leading in terms of interoperability. It is very simple. You can use it from any mobile phone. You have one code, you click on it and that is it. You are straight into the room. There is no messing around with being admitted. The way we see it is that it gives people choice and options. When I was before the Oireachtas Committee on Justice in October 2021, some of the witnesses said it was beneficial for vulnerable court users because it gave people more choice. It meant they did not have to leave home. They could participate in proceedings. Where we have seen a big uptake is on the wardship side of things where wards of court can now dial in along with their committee, watch proceedings and participate in proceedings where previously they would not have attended at all, so it has given people options. We are very conscious of the digital divide and keep a very close eye on that. People can come in and use facilities in court offices and we make every effort to accommodate people. It is about giving people additional options rather than taking options away. That is the way we have looked at it. We are doing a proof of concept for new technology so we are working to see what lessons we have learned, what we could improve on and what we could make better for people in the future.