Martin Kenny (Sligo-Leitrim, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister and look forward to that report from the Courts Service. We are all aware that people across Ireland are becoming more conscious of the scourge of domestic and gender-based violence, intimate partner violence, harassment and coercive control. As a society we are getting better at identifying people in that situation and encouraging them to seek support and come forward. More and more of them are and it is appropriate to pay tribute to the many organisations like Women's Aid, Men's Aid and the rape crisis centres. They all do magnificent work to assist people in trying to move forward with that.

The difficulty we experience is that when these cases reach the courts system people often find it arduous and difficult. In some cases, the wait can be as long as three years. Some of that is down to delays with the Director of Public Prosecutions and other issues but the general difficulty is that the courts system is under huge stress because of the long delays. Some of it may be due to disorganisation and areas that could be tightened up. The Courts Service could do a better job in some areas and that needs to be examined. However, the primary reason is that we do not have enough judges in place to be able to deal with the cases. The Minister has a report. He mentioned yesterday that the conclusions are due to be brought forward. I hope that happens quickly.

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