Jonathan O'Brien (Cork North Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I give notice to the Technical Group that I will only use ten minutes of the allotted time in case its members think I intend to use the full time allocation of 30 minutes. I pass on Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn's apologies to the Minister of State. He is running late and has asked me to fill in for him.

We will not oppose the legislation, the purpose of which, as outlined, is to create two additional posts in the High Court to address the problems associated with the significant increase in the number of cases coming before it, including judicial reviews, medical negligence cases, asylum and company law related applications. While we support the legislation, we believe some work needs to be done to address the reasons so many cases are coming before the court and to tackle the causes of these problems before the cases reach court. For example, inaccurate measurement and mapping continues to cause more property disputes to come before the courts. The newly digitised property boundaries are not the same as those on paper maps. This means that the predicted efficiency savings associated with digitisation are absent. Landowners cannot trust the newly digitised boundaries and instead have to physically check boundaries on the ground, which entails the additional cost of employing qualified and competent surveyors. As a result, digitisation receives unjust criticism, whereas the blame should lie with those behind the rushed procedures.

With regard to medical negligence cases, the culture of defend and deny results in more and more cases going before the court and, ultimately, more tax revenue being used by the State on legal fees. This is something that needs to be addressed. We are not suggesting people should not defend fraudulent cases, but in some cases where, as we have seen in media reports, there is an obvious outcome when the case goes to court, a mediation process would be a calmer and less adversarial way in which to address the lengthy, traumatic and, mostly, unwieldy and, ultimately, highly expensive medical negligence legal system. We have consistently advocated the need for the mediation Bill to be brought forward, but, unfortunately, I do not believe that will happen before this Dáil term ends.

The Special Criminal Court is not a symbol of success but a concrete example of failure. The fact that accused citizens can be convicted of an offence not on specific evidence but on the word of individual gardaí and the secret submission of evidence that is not open for the defendant to examine and refute is offensive to all democratic sensibilities. The court is entirely unacceptable and should be closed.

Meaningful change can, however, be achieved in the court system by introducing a sentencing council in the State. Such a council operates in other jurisdictions and provides sentencing guidelines for the judiciary. This has ensured sentences handed down for criminal offences in the courts are consistent and accountable across the board. There has been concern in recent years about the perceived inconsistency of sentencing in the courts here. We have examined other sentencing council models and believe this model of consistency and accountability should be introduced in the State. A key strength is that these models involve a range a key stakeholders such as victim support groups, academics, senior police officers, senior parole officers and the public in the process of establishing sentencing guidelines for the courts system. As members of the courts are in the majority on the sentencing council which is chaired by a senior member of the judiciary, they are still central to the process. However, the guidelines issued ensure members of the judiciary must stick to the range provided for the category of offence before them. They must also clearly indicate why they have sentenced an offender within that range, taking into consideration the impact on the victim and the blameworthiness of the offender. This ensures consistency and accountability across the courts system and the state. It is a pity such a council has not been prioritised in this Dáil term, but we hope it will be prioritised in the next Dáil term.

See this speech in context