Dáil debates

Wednesday, 10 April 2019

Courts (Establishment and Constitution) (Amendment) Bill 2019: Second Stage

 

6:30 pm

Photo of Mattie McGrathMattie McGrath (Tipperary, Independent) | Oireachtas source

Not at all, I have great respect for her. Adding five people here is like buying extra hens if those that one already has are not laying eggs.

This is exactly what I said would happen and what legal commentators such as Seth Barrett Tillman of Maynooth University have made clear. Anyone who wanted to do so or who cared enough could see what was about to happen at the time of the referendum. In 2017 and 2018, I asked the Minister for Justice and Equality, on the floor of the House and by means of parliamentary questions, to address ongoing concerns regarding the inability of the Court of Appeal to address its persistently large backlog of civil and criminal cases.

At the time, an analysis of the Courts Service was undertaken by the same Seth Barrett Tillman, a lecturer in law at Maynooth University. He found that without significant reform the Court of Appeal would be incapable of reducing its judicial backlog. He put that out during the referendum. He argued the point on radio, television and anywhere he was asked to argue the point. He argued cogently and coherently and the Government was unable to give him answers. Yet, the Government fooled the people into voting for it. As Deputy Michael Healy-Rae and others said, many people were so tormented waiting that they thought this would be a panacea to everything, but it was a panacea to nothing. This analysis was a forensic deconstruction of the spin that was being peddled regarding the impact that the Court of Appeal would have on addressing the backlog of cases. Spin is all it was. The Government did not have a spin machine worth €5 million at that time worth, but it was going to spend money at the same time. It was spin and nothing short of it. At the time, the idea of a new court was being sold to the people. It was touted as a kind of perfect remedy for the extraordinary delays affecting our judicial system. It had no hope of ever achieving that. Some of us tried to highlight the fact that all this would do, in the absence of more fundamental reform, was create the illusion of progress. Anyone who took a cursory look at what was going on could have predicted it. That position has now been vindicated.

Seth Barrett Tillman has shown that in the course of the Court of Appeal's second complete calendar year, with millions of euro spent, the number of pending cases started at 1,814 but by the end of the year the number had increased to 1,821. That is an increase of seven after all the money, spin and talk. I am not blaming the judges but I am saying there is something serious wrong with the system. I had students here today from the Central Technical Institute in Clonmel. If I had brought up first year students, they would have known there was something radically wrong. The backlog is going up in spite of it. The Government is going to add six new judges without addressing the fundamental problems of the backlog. They are basic enough to deal with, but the Government does not appear to want to deal with them. The number of pending cases went up from 1,814 at the start of the year to 1,821. Some people are laughing all the way to the bank, but people are not getting the justice they deserve and are entitled to as citizens in a modern democracy. There was no net reduction in the number of cases in the backlog in that year. Tillman carried out his research in a full calendar year. It has got worse. In point of fact, Seth Barrett Tillman highlighted that there was a 98% decrease in the number of case disposed of between 2015 and 2016 in the two-year calendar period. This was predicted by him, by me and by a small number of others during the referendum but the Government would not listen.

All these issues raise profound challenges for the operation of the court and for public value for money. The question of value for money never seems to come up. We have become reckless and we do not care. We could get another firm of accountants to examine it and give it another €500,000, and off we go. We all carry on. This question must be addressed and scrutinised without the kind of delays that may arise from an undue sense of deference towards judges. I am not saying it is a question of deference towards judges. I am simply saying they cannot do it all. The system is archaic, choked and not fit for purpose. Now we can see what is going on. If they are not getting through the backlog, then questions need to be asked about why that is happening year after year even with additional court facilities at their disposal. We saw the bill for them as well. It was enormous but the efficiency is not there. The reasonable conclusion is that more fundamental reform is needed instead of creating another court with the same procedures. Even children can see that more judges will not solve the backlog. It is the procedures that are at fault and they need to be changed. That is why I am opposing this Bill but the Government is throwing money at it.

The Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Deputy Ross, has a Bill stuck in the Seanad. The Rural Independent Deputies debated another Bill from the Minister, Deputy Ross, last year. We were described as everything, including filibusterers. Yet, there is no word of filibustering now even though that Bill has been held up in the Seanad for months. What is wrong with the media and commentators? They demonised us for representing our people on legislation that was wrecking rural Ireland. Now a Bill that is so badly needed - it is being championed by the Minister, Deputy Ross - is held up in the Seanad for days, weeks and months but there is not a word of filibustering. It is fine if a person comes from Dublin, has a posh accent and is a barrister, a Senator or whatever. I am not criticising anyone. There may be good reason for the delay. It is bad legislation. However, I am criticising the media and the commentators who ridiculed us as backward. They were fanned by the Minister for Justice and Equality at the time. I know they are not here but I hope they are listening - tá siad ag éisteacht sa seomra. I hope it is not the seomra codlata and that they are still there. Fair play, it is fine playing with me. The people of Tipperary, Kerry and west Cork are entitled to representation. They are entitled to send us here for the time being to scrutinise legislation and fight off dastardly legislation. This is where the energy should be focused. We will not apologise for what we did because the benefits are being seen now. Pubs, institutions and everything else are closing down. There is rural isolation and God knows what but there is no impact analysis of the effect. Yet, when a Bill is delayed for weeks and months there is no criticism. What kind of critics have we? Can we not have others? The people know what is going on. They are not that stupid in the country. They can see what is going on. This legislation is useless, toothless and fruitless. If we do not reform the system, we can appoint all the judges we like but it is no good.

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