Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)

I thank everyone who contributed to this debate. This really is a potpourri of legislative proposals. I am sure we all could go on inventing different ways of describing it. Mention was made of a smorgasbord and I must say, as we got to a quarter to two, I would have been delighted if someone had brought one into the Chamber, but I am sure it is contrary to the rules of the House.

I will try to address most of the issues that Senators have raised. If I do not address all of them, perhaps they will forgive me because we will have an opportunity to deal with them on Committee Stage.

I will deal with bankruptcy issue first. I emphasise that the provisions in the Bill are very much a first step. The insolvency Bill, on which substantial work has been done, will provide an entirely new legal architecture for dealing with bankruptcy and insolvency issues. This is by way of an interim step. It is also by way of facilitating, if I could put it this way, tidying up the legacy of the old law. From the work that has been done, by allowing for automatic discharge after 12 years it allows that part of the Courts Service which deals with this area and the official assignee to terminate in excess of 300 legacy bankruptcies, and there is a certain administrative procedure required for that when we enact this law. That, in a sense, will prepare for the insolvency Bill that is coming along.

I thought long and hard about what should be the timeframe, in the context of the three-year issue, five-year issue and six year issue. I had a concern that the six year term the previous Government provided for in this particular part of the legislation that my predecessor published was too long.

As Minister for Justice and Equality, I thought it was a serious step and I am very concerned about whatever disagreements there might be between those engaged in the on-licence and off-licence trade. There is a social duty and responsibility and the guidelines put in place by MEAS fulfilled a very important function. They were of considerable advantage to the drinks industry. Not only did they prescribe an appropriate socially responsible roadmap, in a sense they also put down a marker that those engaged in the sale of alcohol were prepared to recognise certain social responsibilities and obligations and abide by them. It is unprecedented that it would be announced that we were now ditching and abandoning them and no longer complying with them. I greatly appreciate the support given by Senators for what I have had to say on the issue.

Senator Paul Bradford, like Senator Denis O'Donovan and others, raised the bankruptcy issue. Others raised the issue of the retirement age for the Taxing Master. In the context of where matters stand, we believe it appropriate to provide for a retirement age of 65. It is not an issue of major consequence, but there is an issue as to the length of time an individual can undertake work of this nature. This is very much an interim measure and the particular provision will fade into irrelevance once we enact the legal services Bill. We will look at this issue.

Senator Sean Barrett made reference to accountants. There may be a little confusion. The job of the Taxing Master of the High Court essentially is to determine issues of dispute in relation to legal costs. The Taxing Master will deal with a situation where there has been litigation and an order has been made by the courts which requires the losing side to pay the legal fees of the winning side. Where there is a dispute as to what the fees should be, the Taxing Master will adjudicate on the appropriate sum payable by the losing litigant by having regard to the nature of the work undertaken by the solicitors and counsel who represented the successful litigant. The Taxing Master also has a function where there is a dispute between a client of the legal profession about the fees charged by a solicitor or a solicitor and a barrister.

The only individuals who can be appointed Taxing Masters are solicitors. Barristers are excluded from such appointment, which does not make a huge heap of sense. The other persons involved in the process are not ordinary accountants but legal cost accountants. Legal cost accountants are individuals who are expert in the law relating to legal costs, the preparation of legal cost bills, assessing the fairness of such bills and determining and recommending to the legal profession appropriate fees to charge based on work undertaken.

This proposal does not envisage accountants generally been appointed as Taxing Masters; they would not have the skill or expertise to take up such an appointment. It will extend the possibility of appointment to those who, frankly, have the greatest expertise in this area because they are the ones who regularly appear in the Taxing Master's court to make submissions and debate these issues. When it comes to the Taxing Master's court, even to members of the legal profession, some of the principles applicable and the comparators used in previous cases would be something of a mystery. It is the legal cost accountants who have the expertise. Many years ago I believed they should have been eligible for such appointments because they were very much specialists in the area and as such it is an appropriate step to take.

Senators Paul Bradford, Ivana Bacik, Jillian van Turnhout and others have raised the issue of human trafficking and the tragedy that afflicts women and children who are the victims of such trafficking, and, in particular, the provision in the legislation which essentially deals with the provision of legal aid. What we are doing is putting in place a statutory mechanism to ensure the victims of human trafficking will have a legal entitlement to legal advice. The criticism is that we are not providing for legal representation in court cases. The reality is that in our criminal justice system court cases are prosecuted by the Garda or the Director of Public Prosecutions; the defendant is represented and those who are the victims of a criminal offence give evidence. We do not provide for legal representation for those who have been the victims of a criminal offence.

I do not want to diminish the impact on individuals of human trafficking or being forced to engage in prostitution as a victim of human trafficking; I do not want to diminish in any way the effect on their lives of being caught in such appalling circumstances, but let us consider other areas of the law. If any of us in the House is mugged on the street tomorrow or if any member of our families is the victim of a burglary or other criminal conduct, the Garda will investigate, the Director of Public Prosecutions will prosecute and the defendant and the State will be represented by lawyers in court. None of us would go along with our lawyers to court, even if we could afford to pay them, because we would have no role or function in the prosecution process. What is important - on occasion there is confusion about this - is that those who are the victims of human trafficking understand their legal rights and the legal process, the benefits to them of co-operating with the Garda and that they have a lawyer who can explain to them the workings of the criminal justice system if there is to be a criminal prosecution. These are very important issues to be addressed and for the first time in this legislation we will provide for, by way of statutory provision, such legal assistance.

I thank Senator Jillian van Turnhout for mentioning the citizenship ceremony. Senator Ivana Bacik raised the issue of delays in processing citizenship applications. When I became Minister for Justice and Equality, there were 22,000 citizenship applications outstanding in the Department. Of these, 17,000 had been waiting for a decision for in excess of six months and far too many had been waiting for a decision for in excess of two years. Some had been waiting for a decision for closer to two and a half or three years. When the figure was averaged out, 17,000 had been waiting for a decision for approximately 25 months.

As someone who in opposition had been critical of the delays in processing citizenship applications, in my early days in the Department I had meetings with officials. I inquired about the systems applicable in processing such applications. What Senators may not realise is that the Minister must sign off on all applications. Citizenship is either granted or refused, but, ultimately, it requires the signature of the Minister.

The section of the Department which deals with citizenship applications, which is based in Tipperary, explained to me how the system worked. We examined where the problems were and I looked at putting in place a new business system and adopting a new approach to dealing with applications. I brought the matter before the Government and advised it on many of the changes introduced. There is available a statement which details them at some length. The effect is that I have dealt with more applications and made more decisions in my first three months or so as Minister than were dealt with last year. Just over 5,000 applications were dealt with in 2010. As of last week, more than 6,000 applications had been processed. My objective, which I believe is achievable, is to get to a position by late spring or early summer next year whereby all citizenship applications will be processed within six months unless some exceptional difficulty or circumstance arises.

On how we deal with applications, the system has been modified to ensure that it is more efficient and that information which comes to me, as Minister, is more readily accessible in terms of dealing with, for example, bulk applications in relation to which there is no controversy or an application in respect of a spouse who is married to an Irish citizen, in respect of which no great difficulty or complexity should arise. We have arranged for different streams of applications to be dealt with.

Senators may not be aware that up to now a person granted citizenship would not receive his or her letter from the Minister for Justice and Equality until two or three years after the application was made. The letter would instruct the person to go to the local District Court to obtain an appointment - which may be two to four months later - to swear a declaration of fidelity to the State in front of a district judge. A person might have had to hang around the court watching a couple of criminal trials before being called or the judge might have dealt with the case at the end of the day when tired. The system attached no importance to becoming an Irish citizen. As a consequence, we have devised an appropriate ceremony that makes the event meaningful and shows that we as a country respect those who wish to become citizens of our country.

The first citizenship ceremony was held a few days ago. It was, for me, an emotional event. Everyone who attended was extraordinarily emotional. Some 73 new Irish citizens were sworn in on the day. That leaves approximately 4,000 people who have been granted Irish citizenship, with whom the courts cannot possibly cope. I want to ensure the backlog we are addressing does not become a court backlog. There will be a series of further ceremonies during which large numbers of people, properly granted citizenship, will be sworn in as citizens. The pilot worked well and we hope to hold more ceremonies at the end of July through to September. To ensure that those who have been granted citizenship get their papers at as early a stage as possible, we may, to assist them, truncate the ceremonies so that a number of people can become Irish citizens.

The template of how we are to this into the future is that set down in Dublin Castle. There will be a series of ceremonies of that nature. Those ceremonies will become the manner in which we deal with citizenship ceremonies on a permanent basis once we get back to the six months' rule. In the meantime, individuals who are not available to participate in a ceremony can still use the District Court system. People will not be prohibited by an ability to attend at a particular ceremony. People will be informed of dates of ceremonies. I will also on occasion invite Members of this House to attend such ceremonies.

The feedback for what occurred last week has been extraordinary. The people who engaged in the ceremony expressed great support for the new approach being taken by Government. It is important we send out the message that we welcome those who lawfully live and work among us, are part of their community and wish to obtain citizenship and that we welcome the contribution they will make to Ireland. I am not sure we have always approached it in that way.

A number of Senators commented on the domestic violence legislation. It is my objective to bring forward a codified reformed single domestic violence Act. I take the point that this is not a great way to legislate. As I stated, 40 different Acts had to be examined to produce this legislation. It is hoped we will have an opportunity to not alone reform areas of law but to codify them. Had I tried to address each of these areas in a single Bill, three-quarters of the reform would not have seen daylight until 2012 and there would not have been parliamentary time to deal with them.

Senators referred to domestic violence and maintenance issues. Senator Clune mentioned her experience in Cork. It is of particular importance that we provide the protection necessary. Other amendments are necessary in this area. For example, there is no reason an individual stalked by someone should not be entitled to an order that is the equivalent of a safety order. While there is protection in other legislation for someone who is the victim of stalking, I am examining this issue. The nature of the amendment that had to be framed to deal with that issue is a little different because of the definition issues that have to be addressed. If it is possible to include such provision in adequate form in this Bill, as we go through it, I will do so. If not, it will form part of the codified reforming measure I hope to produce in the future.

I have dealt with most of the issues raised by Senators. Senator Power and others raised the issue of criminalising those who use prostitution services. This issue is under review in my Department. An examination is being conducted and the Department has received a report on it, which I have yet to consider in terms of how we might proceed. The Department is examining what the Swedish Government has done in this area. I want to be careful in terms of how we deal with it. I am conscious of the difficulties surrounding women who engage in prostitution. From time immemorial, prostitution has been a reality. Governments of different centuries have tried to address it in different ways, often not succeeding in their efforts. We will examine this issue carefully. I have no doubt we will come back to it on another occasion. I do not want to express any definitive or final views on the matter.

Senator Mullins asked if the legislation will cover GAA clubs. Organisations - which GAA clubs are - engaging in volunteer work are, as I understand, volunteers within the definitional provision in the legislation. Senator Quinn raised issues around negligence and told us the grape story which relates to the success of his company when a person slipped on a grape in a store. I suppose that could be described as the grapes of wrath case. Obviously, the judge listened to the evidence and the finding was that business which employes people who carefully mind premises cannot be found to be negligent. As customers are going through, every issue arising cannot be addressed within a few moments. There are occasions in the courts when people take cases alleging negligence against others and the cases may be nothing more than somebody trying something on. They would have no substance but the hope is that where people litigate, they will only do so in good faith, with the courts hearing such cases with care and making appropriate decisions.

There have been instances of the courts throwing out cases, with judges harshly criticising people who have taken what could be described as vexatious or frivolous actions. Some years ago there was a concern that some people were regularly taking actions seeking damages for negligence, and on a repetitive basis such people appeared to have themselves injured. The courts took a very strong line when that became apparent. Negligence plays an important role in the provision of protection in civil law for the public in particular areas, and it is of some concern and importance that it is not a grounds for litigation that is abused and misused. It should not put those against whom litigation is taken under unfair pressure, resulting in them incurring unnecessary expense.

I hope I have covered most of the issues raised today and that Senators will forgive me if I have not. We will have an opportunity to tease our way through the Bill on Committee Stage and I thank the House for the helpful and constructive comments made. I look forward to the Committee Stage in this House as it will be my first occasion as Minister to take Committee Stage of any Bill we have published. It will be a first for me in the Seanad.