Mattie McGrath (Tipperary South, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I want to ask about two tranches of legislation. One is the long-awaited Construction Contracts Bill, which we have heard so much noise about. Many small businesses have been forced out of business and this is continuing. It is farcical at this stage that the Bill is not yet introduced.

In the justice area there is a plan to establish a dedicated family court structure. There have been three cases recently where the courts have locked out family members, colleagues and other supporters in cases where the banks are trying to repossess people's homes. It happened in Waterford yesterday, it happened in Trim already and it has happened before in Dublin. People are entitled to justice. The courts locked out members of the National Union of Journalists and members of the press, who I am not here to speak for. Anyway, justice should be carried out in public. Is this coming from Government or where is it coming from? The banks are doing dirty work and are getting obstructed by people genuinely making their case in the court, standing up and defending themselves. In many cases they cannot afford legal representatives. When family members and friends tried to go in yesterday they were locked out and treated like criminals. This is an alarming situation. I call on the Taoiseach, the Minister for Finance and the Minister for Justice and Equality to deal with the matter. It is simply not good enough that people are not allowed to attend court. These are family members and those who want to support people in a lay capacity.

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