Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I fully understand and appreciate the necessity of increasing the number of judges at the present time. The population is growing, the demands are growing, more and more cases are being referred to the courts and more and more cases have to be referred again and again to the courts. There are also a number of cases over which I would disagree with my learned colleague, where there are judicial reviews that could be handled in a different fashion without taking up the time and the expense of the courts. Put simply, the lesson I have learned over the years from that is that people's need for a house, a home of their own, has to be taken into account as well. It must rank highly on the order of priorities. Notwithstanding anything that interferes with that right, provided everything is done in a proper fashion and in accordance with the law, we should do our best to facilitate it.

One thing that put particular strain on the courts over the past number of years is of course the financial crash and the fallout from it, which brought thousands of people into a situation where they had to go to court or were brought to court by lending institutions of one kind or another. To be fair to the judges and the courts, in many cases they gave a fair hearing to these people in court. They had to wait to get to court however. The actions taken by some of the lending institutions, referred to already by Deputy Mattie McGrath and by other people contributing to this debate, was somewhat different. Corners were cut; people were employed in evictions who should not have any right or authority in that area at all. I dealt with a number of cases myself, whereby I had to raise questions in the House as to whether these were legitimate sheriff's employees, members of An Garda Síochána or members of some other body appointed by a lending institution to force the family or families out of the house or houses, as the case may be. That was totally unacceptable, unnecessary and highly emotive from the point of view of depriving the family of a roof over their heads.

We have had a lot of discussion about lifting the ban on evictions in recent times. I can understand that and acknowledge it is a hugely pressing issue. We cannot forget that in some cases, the householders did not have the chance of going to court or anywhere. The system was short-circuited by those with the power and authority in their hands and the individuals in the homes and households were forced out. That continues to a certain extent and we as public representatives deal with it all the time. I readily admit that I was probably in every court in the land except the Supreme Court over the past ten or 12 years. These cases arose from home repossessions and all that went with it and hardship was caused for an awful lot of people and families, many of whom were themselves bereaved or who were vulnerable at the time. We hear about how certain institutions were benevolent and so on. They were not. There were individuals in many of these institutions who pummelled the people concerned. Representatives from the institutions came again and again and were at their door every night waiting for the people to come home from work, knowing that they had no ability of paying for a house valued in a different time and in different circumstances and that the only way was out. Lots and lots of people had to leave by virtue of the force brought upon them by the lending institutions. The Leas-Cheann Comhairle will be glad to know I will not name the different institutions but I reserve the right to do so in the future as is necessary. I will tell her beforehand though.

One thing that has come to my attention in recent times with an increasing number of incidents is in the family law courts, where there is a new regime applicable that is called parental alienation. It has caused unbelievable distress to young mothers who are being separated forcibly from their children. Their children are detained by An Garda Síochána on foot of an order of the court, which is covered by the in camerarule. Everybody will say I do not have the right to raise this. If I do not have the right to raise this, then where is this issue to be raised? Where is the place for the people to raise the question of an injustice that is being done? I believe it has to be here.

I think the Leas-Cheann Comhairle would agree with me in another time and place, because as far as I am concerned, and there are many Deputies in this House who are aware of what was happening, there is now a clear indication that due process and natural justice will not necessarily prevail. This is a serious situation and there is no other place to raise this matter. This is the Legislature. It is where we raise these issues.

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