Charles Flanagan (Laois-Offaly, Fine Gael)

On behalf of Fine Gael, I welcome the Courts and Court Officers Bill to the House. It will have the support of my party and I wish it speedy passage. I thank the Minister for introducing the Bill. The general theme of modernisation and increased efficiency can be seen as two threads that permeate the Bill and from this point of view it is very welcome. The Bill represents real progress in the approach of this House to the courts system and the Courts Service. An enormous amount of work remains to be done in this context but this legislation is welcome.

In the number of years since the inauguration of the Courts Service, efficiency and modernisation has been the hallmark and I welcome this. The Bill is divided into a number of components, to which I will now refer. The use of Garda time is one such important component. The Minister referred to calls from this House, including Deputies of all sides, and from Chief Inspector of the Garda Síochána Inspectorate, Ms Kathleen O'Toole, for changes to ensure that gardaí spent their time where their expertise could be best seen. This has been heeded in many respects in Part 2, which aims to resolve jurisdictional issues in respect of the role of the Garda Síochána and the role of the Irish Prison Service in escorting prisoners.

I represent the Laois-Offaly constituency, which houses more prisoners than any other. The prison is based in a busy provincial town while the Central Criminal Court and the Court of Criminal Appeal are based in the capital city. Therefore, prison escort is a major issue. It is essential that the Minister resolves questions about who engages in these escorts and under whose jurisdiction the escorts lie. Is it the Garda Síochána or the Irish Prison Service? The Irish Prison Service should be supplied with sufficient resources to ensure that escort duties can be carried out with the efficiency that is essential. It was suggested some years ago that the Court of Criminal Appeal might sit in Portlaoise and that a specifically designed court building would be constructed near Portlaoise Prison. This would increase the efficient and smooth running of the administration of criminal law. It would also obviate the need for emergency escorts and convoys on the main Cork to Dublin road on a daily basis. There are cost implications for these escorts in terms of time and ensuring that the courts operate so that the public is best served. Attempts to gradually move functions that were formerly under the jurisdiction of the Garda Síochána to the Irish Prison Service have been hampered by a lack of resources. I ask the Minister to address this issue in the context of the legislation where reference is made to it.

The Bill refers to civilianisation. I am reminded of a recent report by the Comptroller and Auditor General, which drew attention to the fact that only 144 gardaí have been released from administrative duties since 2005 under the civilianisation programme, although almost 1,000 civilians have been employed in the force since that date. The report noted that the ratio of civilians to gardaí in the Garda Síochána is one in seven, which is particularly low in comparison to other jurisdictions. In the UK the ratio is one in three, in Sweden and Australia it is one in four. The slow rate of progress in this area is remarkable and must be addressed. On the other hand, one can see results where small communities across Ireland are bereft of a Garda service. There is a real need to ensure that where gardaí are available and stationed, the use of their time, experience and expertise is in the best interest of communities. I would like the Minister to clarify the reasons for the slow progress in civilianisation, the blockages and the programme to ensure that the civilianisation programme can be progressed.

The matter of gardaí in court is also of some concern. The Garda budget this year has been slashed to an amount in excess of €30 million. Will the Minister confirm that in excess of €10 million of the Garda overtime budget-----

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