Lisa McDonald (Fianna Fail)

I also welcome the Minister of State to the House and wish to signal my support for the Bill. As the Minister of State noted, courts Acts in general are quite technical and do not contain anything exciting. At the same time, however, when the Courts Service or courts offices do not work or, as Senator Regan mentioned, business does not flow, it can cause a great deal of angst, strife and vexation for victims, practitioners, judges and everyone involved in the administration of justice. The changes contained in this Bill are quite minor as this legislation has been prompted by the construction of the new criminal courts complex in Dublin. While I look forward to visiting it and seeing it in operation, it seems to be a state-of-the-art complex in which every need of victims, practitioners and courts staff will be met. The bringing under one roof in Dublin of all those courts to enable the High Court to become the central High Court for civil cases again is welcome. Obviously security issues will be easier to deal with in the new complex. For example, I note that one of its design features is to minimise the proximity of victims to the accused and it also provides for remote video links etc. which is welcome. In another recent development, the Courts Service introduced a new on-line accounting system which helps to free up staff time in respect of dealing with other matters and which is highly worthwhile.