John Curran (Dublin Mid West, Fianna Fail)

I thank the Deputy for his suggestion in this regard. The 1872 Act did confer jurisdiction on the Circuit Court and High Court in debt matters in addition to the District Court. However, even by the time the 1926 Act was drafted, it was recognised that the District Court was the jurisdiction in which such matters were commonly dealt with. It constructed the legal framework that is used to this day and this was reinforced by the 1940 Act. Ms. Justice Laffoy refers to this in her judgment in page 6, where she states it is the latter, the District Court jurisdiction, that is more commonly exercised. Costs associated with the higher courts would leave a creditor potentially very exposed if he or she were to choose, for some perverse reason, to pursue a debtor there. It may be a matter that the Law Reform Commission will examine but it need not detain us today. I do not propose to accept the amendment.

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