Lisa McDonald (Fianna Fail)

I call for a debate on the excellent report of Dr. Carol Coulter on the family law reporting pilot project and reform of the family law courts. The backlog of cases in the District Court and Circuit Court is a result of the family law setup in Ireland. It is crying out for reform. Offenders are re-offending by the time their initial cases are heard and we must take family law out of the District Court. We should set up a separate facility for family law. The current situation causes domestic violence because there is no closure when it takes three or four years for a case to be heard. I call for portions of the report to be implemented.

The Pere Charles and the Maggie B were raised last week, almost a year after tragedy befell the families of the victims. It is not good enough that there was a delay of one year. Marine life would have damaged any evidence on the seabed in that time. Ireland needs a rapid response unit, especially for counties based on the seafront such as Wexford. It is not fair that families must hope that something will be found when, realistically, it will not be. I call for a debate on this and may raise it on the Adjournment.