Anne Rabbitte (Galway East, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I am taking this matter on behalf of the Minister for Justice, Deputy McEntee. I will keep to the script. I thank the Deputies for raising this important matter and for the opportunity to provide clarity on some issues.

As both of them will be aware, management of the courts, operational matters and logistical functions are the responsibility of the Judiciary and Courts Service, which are independent in exercising their functions under the Courts Service Act 1998 and, given the separation of powers in the Constitution, the Minister has no role in the exercise of Courts Service functions. It is the Minister's understanding that the Courts Service senior management team and board have recently decided to close the court office in Youghal before the end of this year, mainly for health and safety and administrative reasons. The property at Quay Lane in Youghal where Courts Service staff are based is leased rather than owned by the Courts Service.

Youghal District Court and Circuit Court sittings will continue as scheduled in the town hall. The District Court sits on the first and third Friday of the month and the Circuit Court sits each January and July. The Minister is advised that the staff in the Youghal court office will be involved in informing the new arrangements that will be put in place. The local judge, legal practitioners, support and representative groups and court office users will also be involved over the coming months to ensure the service continues to be supported.

In consultation with the Youghal court office, the work in Youghal will be transitioned to the two court offices in Cork city, which are the closest court offices to Youghal. All criminal matters will be managed by the court office in Anglesea Street and all family and civil matters will be managed by the court office in Washington Street. Following a health and safety risk assessment, the Courts Service has identified a space in Youghal Town Council from which a member of staff could provide a local customer service in the town every Friday, particularly in respect of family law services. This arrangement would also provide support to the District Court sittings scheduled for the first and third Friday of each month. Once implemented, this arrangement will be monitored by the Courts Service and reviewed after a six-month period.

Access to domestic violence services will be provided through three different options that will be available to service users. They may choose to contact the family law office in Washington Street courthouse by telephone, attend the courthouse in Washington Street in person, or attend Youghal Town Council on any Friday. Many family law court users prefer not to have their issues dealt with locally and to go instead to main centres to file their forms and have the matters dealt with in a secure and private setting.

On a broader note, family justice is a priority for the Minister and a major element in Justice Plan 2022. The programme for Government contains a commitment to enact a family court Bill to create a new dedicated family court within the existing court structure and provide for court procedures that support a faster and less adversarial resolution of disputes in specialised centres. Work is ongoing on the drafting of the Bill with a view to its publication as soon as possible in 2022.

Alongside the family court Bill, the Department of Justice is in the process of finalising a family justice strategy, which will set out a high-level vision and key medium- and more long-term objectives for the development of a national family justice system. The establishment of a dedicated family court structure as envisaged by the forthcoming family court Bill will form a core part of the strategy.

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