Alex White (Dublin South, Labour) | Oireachtas source

As I indicated, the report to which the Deputy refers, or at least the relevant statistics, will be available in July 2013. The difficulty is that the procedures have not been in place for long enough to allow the data to be collated and properly presented. We all agree that the law and requirements should be applied uniformly across the State.

With regard to the Minister's role, the Deputy will acknowledge that he is doing everything in his power. He has emphasised to the Courts Service that a legal requirement is in place and should be enforced. However, the courts are subject only to the Constitution and law. The Minister does not have a supervisory role over the courts in the way that has been suggested and it is not open to him to supervise them in the way other people may monitor or keep on eye on them. He will, however, prepare the information in question and make it available in July. We must all accept that the system is still bedding down. The Deputy's view that there should be uniform and proper application of procedures and the law is shared by the Minister.

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