Séamus Healy (Tipperary, Workers and Unemployed Action Group) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the opportunity to speak on this Bill and to support it. I compliment Deputies Ó Laoghaire and Pearse Doherty on bringing it forward. The basis of this Bill is the Law Reform Commission report of 2005 which recommended the idea of multi-party actions or class actions as they are probably better known. Successive Governments have long-fingered the legislation and allowed the report to gather dust. Again tonight the Fine Gael-Independent Alliance Government has opposed this legislation. It is time that we had fair and equal access to the courts for everybody. That is what this legislation is about. It is about access to justice. Unfortunately, like our health system, we have a two-tier justice system. Money talks, and those with deep pockets, the wealthy, have easy access to the courts, whereas those who are less well off are effectively excluded from the system.

The question of costs is a huge disincentive to individuals who have little or no chance when they take on banks or vulture funds. Those are supported by the failings of barristers, junior counsel and solicitors. I was in the High Court and Supreme Court with a local hospital action committee a number of years ago.

We were being represented on a pro bonobasis. The HSE had numerous senior and junior counsel and a whole array of solicitors. Access to the judicial system is not available on a fair and equal basis for ordinary people in this country.

The Bill is very welcome. It will not level the playing pitch entirely but it certainly will help. It will help in cases like the DePuy hip situation, institutional abuse, and indeed the tracker mortgages situation currently being covered in the media. The tracker mortgages issue, in particular, cannot be solved or dealt with properly unless there is a criminal investigation by the fraud squad. I call again on the Government to send in the fraud squad to the banks to thoroughly investigate. There is no doubt in my mind that there has been huge collusion between the banks.

The Bill before us will, I hope, bring about a situation in which multi-party actions or class actions are available here. They have been available in other jurisdictions for quite some time. These recommendations have been long-fingered and allowed to gather dust for over 12 years. The purpose of the Bill is to provide for procedural and other changes in civil actions so as to provide for the bringing of multi-party actions and to reduce the cost of litigation. That is a very important element, particularly for individuals who want to bring cases. The Bill also provides for other related matters. The class action or multi-party action is one in which a number of people have a similar complaint, most likely arising out of one incident or set of circumstances. It is more efficient, more effective and less costly if they come together as a group and are dealt with collectively, as opposed to each case being progressed individually. The 2005 report of the Law Reform Commission recommended that there should be a formal procedure and structure to deal with instances of multi-party litigation, which should be referred to as multi-party action. In its report, the commission made a number of recommendations as to how this system would operate, and also included a draft amendment to the rules of the superior courts to provide for it. This amendment and recommendation are mirrored in the Bill that has been brought forward by Deputies Ó Laoghaire and Pearse Doherty.

I welcome the legislation and the opportunity to support it tonight. I appeal to the Government and to the Independent Alliance to allow it to go through to Committee Stage as it is a worthwhile and long overdue piece of legislation.

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