Patricia Ryan (Kildare South, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I, too, thank the Minister for her presentation. I welcome the opportunity to speak on this important but quite technical Bill. The main purpose of the Criminal Procedure Bill 2021 is to provide for the introduction of preliminary trial hearings. These hearings deal with certain matters before a trial begins to ensure that the parties are ready to proceed on the day of the trial and to minimise interruptions while in progress.

Part 3 of the Bill deals with the provision of information to juries to assist them with their deliberations. This section arises from a recommendation of the Law Reform Commission in its 2013 report on jury service. There are a number of other recommendations in that report which we need to consider with a view to implementation. The commission recommends that the register of electors should continue to be the source from which jury panels are drawn and calls for the establishment of the electoral commission to ensure the accuracy of the register. That needs to be a priority to ensure that we can have confidence in our electoral process.

We also need to simplify the process of getting onto the register. The need for a stamp from a Garda station is an unnecessary burden on people. In small towns like Monasterevin, where I come from, residents have to try several times a week to get a garda in our Garda station which, to be fair, is very unfortunate. I may be taking liberties here but I ask that the Minister might look at that also. If they cannot get a Garda member in that station they have to travel to Kildare, which is not too bad if one has a car but is a bit of an ordeal if one does not. A simple fix for this would be to have scheduled public office opening hours where people can call in to have various forms dealt with like we used to do in the past. If we could allow librarians and peace commissioners a wider role in validating the various forms that currently require a visit to the Garda station that would be very helpful.

The commission also recommends the introduction of a modest flat rate daily payment to cover the cost of transport and other incidental expenses involved in jury service. That is very important, particularly for our older people, many of whom have the State pension as their only income. Along with that it recommends that consideration be given by the Government to other means that could be used to alleviate the financial burden that jury service imposes on small businesses and self-employed persons, including the use of tax credits and insurance.

The commission also recommends that the Disability Act 2005 should include express recognition for the provision of physical accessibility such as wheelchair ramps and other reasonable accommodation such as induction loops that make participation by persons with different abilities in a jury practicable and achievable. In a year when we have a 24% decrease in capital spending Estimates for the Courts Service, we need to do more for those who have different abilities.

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