Dáil debates

Thursday, 20 October 2022

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions

Judicial Appointments

9:00 am

Photo of Martin KennyMartin Kenny (Sligo-Leitrim, Sinn Fein)
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1. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality if she will provide an update on the timelines for appointments of new members of the Judiciary; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [52628/22]

Photo of Martin KennyMartin Kenny (Sligo-Leitrim, Sinn Fein)
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I welcome the announcement in the budget that we are going to get more of a commitment to ensure that our judicial system, and particularly our courts system, get more resources. I ask the Minister to provide an update on the timelines for the appointment of new members of the Judiciary; and to provide a statement on the matter. Clearly, in many aspects of our Courts Service there are huge delays and backlogs and a lot of this is down to not having enough staff and judicial staff in particular.

Photo of Helen McEnteeHelen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Deputy for raising the issue. It is a priority for my Department to ensure that the courts are resourced so that we can administer justice efficiently and effectively for everybody who comes into contact with the justice system. Judicial vacancies arise for a number of reasons, including retirements, promotion and, unfortunately, deaths in service. The aim is always to fill such vacancies at the earliest opportunity and a number have been filled recently. There are also a number of vacancies that will be filled in the coming weeks. In order to bring more strategic focus to this, I established a judicial planning working group in April 2021, in line with commitments in the programme for Government and my own justice plan. The working group is going to look at type and number of judges that we have to ensure that there is efficient and effective administration across the system as it currently stands. We are also looking at how we can improve that over the next five years and build on that work. Future judicial resourcing needs will be informed by the report and recommendations of this group. I hope to have a finalised report by the end of November, if not earlier, and possibly the beginning of November.

To help support the work of this group, the OECD was commissioned to prepare an independent review of judicial resources, including benchmarks against international comparators. This is the first time that we have undertaken such an analysis since we established our own courts. There was a bit of a delay due to the complexity of evaluating the data and analysis underpinning the research. It has taken longer than originally anticipated for the OECD to complete its work. The review is with my office. I am hoping to meet with the judicial planning working group in the coming weeks, when it will submit the final report to me. Our courts are under pressure not just due to Covid, although it has placed a significant pressure on them. Acknowledging that fact, as an interim measure we increased the number of judges in the High Court from 37 to 42 last year with the enactment of the Civil Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2021. In addition, section 8 of the Civil Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2021 provided for the number of High Court judges to be exceeded by a further one should the Government so agree. At my request, having consulted with the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, it was decided that would be necessary. Six additional High Court judges have been appointed, acknowledging the pressure that the courts are under. Most importantly, the report will set out a much bigger figure and a timeline on implementation.

Photo of Martin KennyMartin Kenny (Sligo-Leitrim, Sinn Fein)
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I understand the situation in regard to the High Court judges, and there has been an improvement in respect of that. However, I think the key area in which we need to see improvement is in the Circuit Courts and District Courts, in particular. Indeed, the whole family law system is hugely backed up. Access to justice is a primary need and a primary right that citizens must have. At the end of the day, if we do not have enough judges to carry out the roles that are required, we are simply failing the public. That needs to be recognised. I appreciate that the Minister has referenced the two reports and had outlined pieces of work that have been done to look into this issue, but to be frank, I do not think we need reports to look into it. All we need to do is to talk to the people who are working in the courts and the judicial system. We all know, and we all hear it all the time, that the cause of a major part of the significant delays is the absence of judges and not having enough judges. Indeed, looking to the High Court and the higher courts that the Minister has spoken of, where additional capacity has been put in place, some of the judges are often pulled away. There are tribunals, inquiries and all of that and the judges end up sitting on those. We need a commitment from the Minister. How many new judges will be put in place by this time next year, and will it ensure that an adequate service is provided?

Photo of Helen McEnteeHelen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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The fact of the matter is that we do not have enough judges, and we need more. That is clear. That is why I set up the review group. It is important that we understand how many we need and why we need them. For that reason, the people the Deputy mentioned, who know exactly what is going on in the courts, have been part of this process. It is not just the OECD report. In its final report that will be published in the coming weeks, the group will set out exactly how many judges are needed. Pre-empting that report, over €2 million was allocated in the budget this year to ensure that we can start putting the resources and people in place. While we can put judges in place, we need the support teams within the court structure to be able to support their work. That is already happening and the money has already been allocated. As well as that, to make sure that it is not just about judges and numbers, we have the implementation of the modernisation programme in the courts system. That has received funding over the last two years, to make sure that we are using online resource and to ensure that the judges can be efficient and effective as possible. The Deputy mentioned the family courts specifically. We will be establishing a new family court structure in the coming weeks. I will be bringing forward a Bill as well as a family justice oversight group working plan that will go hand in hand with that. That will set out a completely different court structure, taking all of these family law matters out of the Circuit Courts and giving it its own structure, template and its own specialised judges, which I think will be very welcome.

Photo of Martin KennyMartin Kenny (Sligo-Leitrim, Sinn Fein)
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I appreciate all of that, but at the same time, we have to recognise that the shortage of judges is having an impact not just on the number of cases going through the courts, but on the full utilisation of the services we have. For instance, there are new court buildings that were established a number of years ago in Limerick. Most of the time, half of the courts there are not being used. Yet, people are travelling to Dublin to access court services there. They are getting on the train, leaving Limerick and going to Dublin. Witnesses and victims of crime are having to do that when adequate facilities are in place in their own city to provide services. That situation is replicated in many areas around the country. I am told that a lot of that is because the judges do not want to travel from where they are based and because of the shortages. There are issues around that. I respect the Minister's commitment to address this issue, but we have not seen the value of it yet. We have not seen it delivered. We need to see that delivery and we need to see it very fast.

Photo of Helen McEnteeHelen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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Six additional High Court judges were appointed last year, an additional €2 million was provided to prepare the work for the group that will be publishing the report in the coming weeks, there is additional funding for the modernisation programme and a very clear commitment to establish a new family court to take that very difficult situation out of the current structure. That is my commitment. I am making it very clear that we do not have enough judges and we need more. The Deputy touched on a point in his response. We cannot just add judges when greater efficiencies could be found within the current structure as well. Part of the review, led by Brigid McManus, is not just looking at how many more judges we need, but at how we can have greater efficiencies within the system at the moment. It is looking not just at the work that the judges do, including when they sit, how they sit and the hours they work, but how we can include the modernisation programme more to ensure that more people can be seen and more people can be seen at home, in prisons or in Garda stations. It is about making sure that the whole system is interlinked as well, including the Prison Service, the Garda, the courts service, our family law structures and the various different agencies and organisations that work within the judicial system.

Many strands of work are coming together and all of that will lead to a more efficient and effective system. We need more judges, I am committed to providing them and we will have a report in the coming weeks setting out the numbers involved.