Tony Kett (Fianna Fail)

I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Fahey, to the House and am glad of the opportunity to make a small contribution on the Bill. The legal system is central to the notion of what it is to live in a civilised society. At different times, the laws of the land impact to a greater or lesser extent on every citizen. We look to the law and the courts to ensure there is a safe and fearless society in which to live. It is imperative, therefore, we have the best people in these jobs to look after our best interests.

The demands and pressures of modern society necessitate that the requirements are reviewed and upgraded, and that is basically what this House is doing today. In that regard, it is perhaps the third time in the life of the current Seanad that we are reviewing this situation. The Court and Court Officers Act 2002 declared that the number of ordinary judges in the High Court should not exceed 26. Today, the figure for High Court judges is being increased to 35, a 35% increase approximately, a fair indication of the commitment that exists towards providing a better service within the courts. As well as that, the Bill allows for an increase in judicial appointments to both the Circuit and District Courts, four for each. It is right that any Government, on reviewing the need, should respond accordingly, especially for something as important as this.

However, as another Member of the House indicated, it is somewhat cumbersome that new legislation must be enacted every time there is an increase in the number of judges. I wonder whether a speedier method might not be found to do this. Where there is a cost to the Central Fund, I know the two Houses of the Oireachtas must pass the legislation. As we are enacting legislation for an increase of up to 35 judges for the High Court, however, might not that figure be increased to 40 or 45 to give the Minister some leeway so that he does not have to come back for more in another two years? To increase the figure to 45 is not to give the Minister such a free hand that he might abuse the situation.

Other Senators alluded to the fact that we are fortunate with the Judiciary we have at our disposal. Its members are held in great esteem for their integrity, fair-mindedness at all times and independence, which is essential. It would be wrong for a Government to sit of its laurels when the President of the High Court insists that the Judiciary needs additional assistance and not to grant its wishes where it is possible to do so and resources permit. These additional appointments without doubt will speed up the legal process. We know of many bottlenecks at all levels within the courts where there is a need for additional judges.

I welcome the package of measures the Minister of State said are in train to deal with serious crime. These will strengthen the criminal justice system. It is also heartening that judicial review cases that are being delayed, especially those arising from major infrastructural projects, will receive special attention with the new judges coming on stream. That is important.

We talk about saving taxpayers' money and this is one area where we do can do so. We are aware of delays that have occurred in the completion of major infrastructural projects down the years, sometimes caused by individuals who did not live within an ass's roar of the areas about which they were concerned. In one instance a man who lived in Kerry was worried about parts of the extension to the M50. One must question sometimes whether this process is all a game to some of them. I am delighted, however, that this exercise will be speeded up in the courts.

Great progress has been made since the establishment of the Courts Service as an independent agency in 1999. While that was a radical development, it was most welcome at the time. Members on all sides of the House welcomed it. That decision has been shown to have been an excellent one. Without a shadow of a doubt, it has delivered a high quality and professional service to date.

As the Minister of State said, since its foundation great progress has been made in improving the stock of courthouses throughout the country. The budget for the Courts Service has increased by 20%. That is a tremendous boost in any man's language in terms of a revenue allocation. On top of that, the capital allocation has increased by €10 million this year to €29.7 million. That will also have a significant impact on the ongoing development of courthouses. Coupled with that, a maintenance budget has been provided for the ongoing maintenance and upgrading of courthouses. If a maintenance budget was not provided, the chances are that maintenance costs would be covered by the capital allocation. Therefore, it is important that two tranches of money have been allocated to be spent on identified areas.

The new criminal courts complex planned for 2009 is also an exciting development. I am sure it will free up the Four Courts. I read that it is planned that the Four Courts will become the administrative block of the courts. We have spoken in the past of the great distress caused to witnesses who have had to mingle with the perpetrators or individuals against whom they have had to give evidence. I assume that top of the range facilities will be provided whereby this will no longer happen, and that is important.

The Minister of State said that the issue of sentencing was complex and that many factors need to be taken into account when passing sentence. There is no doubt about that. While I accept that judges must take into account a plethora of consequences before they make a decision, members of the public are disheartened to hear in a case that is cut and dried in terms of an offender's guilt that he or she got off on a technicality or with a sentence that a reasonable person would consider was far too light.

Many individuals also commit crimes when out on bail, of which they have been many examples. I heard a statistic given in this House some months ago that 24 out of 26 individuals who had committed a particular type of crime were out on bail. The decisions in those cases were bad calls by judges. If an individual has the capacity to commit further crimes, he or she should not be released on bail in the first instance. This is an issue that should be addressed.

Senator Jim Walsh raised the issue of judicial salaries and he was right to do so. While most civil servants work from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., I do not know the number of hours worked by judges. Judges work when they are not in court in that they must read up on the cases before them before they go into court. One often hears of court cases being adjourned at, say, 12 noon until the following morning and, in those cases, I wonder do the judges go home at that time. If they do, they are getting well paid for their work.

Senator Jim Walsh also raised the issue of the Chief Justice of Ireland receiving a higher salary than the Chief Justice of the United States. He did not elaborate on that so I do not know if the Chief Justice of Ireland works twice the number of hours worked by the Chief Justice of the United States. However, it would seem that the Chief Justice of the United States would have a bigger hole to sit on, so to speak.

Another issue that exercises me is the remission of sentences. This should be earned. To receive remission of one's sentence by virtue of the fact that one is entitled to it, so to speak, is not good enough. Individuals who receive remission of their sentences should do so based on how they behaved during their sentences.

We need to examine the subject of tribunals of inquiry. I do not know the number of judges caught up in this mechanism. The Minister, Deputy McDowell, was severely criticised when he decided that enough was enough and that we should see some light at the end of the tunnel with tribunals of inquiry. I agree with him. It was a brave thing for him to say. It seems we are afraid to say this in case somebody says we want to get rid of tribunals of inquiry now because we are trying to hide something that may arise. They cannot continue ad nauseam. Somebody must call an end to them. They are ten years in existence. If they cannot conduct their work within a specified period, they should be shut down.