Lorraine Higgins (Labour) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister to the House. This is my first opportunity to address her as Minister for Justice and Equality and I commend her on the work she has done on the brief since she took over the portfolio and on bringing forward this very reforming Bill, which is very welcome, not only for consumers of legal services but for many legal professionals. The Bill is a key part of legislation and fundamental to the modernisation and reform of the courts and legal services, given that it provides for the establishment of the new Court of Appeal.

Ireland is out of kilter with other common law jurisdictions in that all appeals from the High Court are heard in the Supreme Court. Other countries, including the UK, Australia, New Zealand and Canada, have courts of appeal that hear appeals from their High Court equivalents. Only the more important cases, including those involving the development of law, are heard by the Supreme Court. Consequently, the highest courts in countries with much larger populations, such as the US and UK, deal proportionately with fewer cases than the Irish Supreme Court. A total of 605 cases were appealed to the Supreme Court in 2012, representing a 21% increase on the previous year. It issued 121 judgments, compared with 64 and 85 judgments issued by the US and UK Supreme Courts, respectively. Given the population sizes, the situation is unsustainable.

The new Court of Appeal to be established will have two prongs, a court of civil appeal and a court of criminal appeal. Much time and deliberation have gone into the Bill's proposals, which are based on the Report of the Working Group on a Court of Appeal published in 2009. The report concluded that, among other measures, the court's establishment would be necessary and would have a positive effect in terms of the efficiency and effectiveness of the courts system.

The court will be tasked with hearing appeals from the High Court. From my time working as a lawyer in the Four Courts, the new court will be a welcome departure, in that it will assist in reducing the time within which an appeal can be heard and will limit the remit of the Supreme Court, which will hear only cases on appeal from the Court of Appeal and, in exceptional circumstances, from the High Court. Given the robust economic situation of the Celtic tiger and the fallout from it in the shape of increased litigation, our court infrastructure has struggled to keep up to speed. Our population has also grown, given the influx of people and businesses from other jurisdictions. All these factors place further demands on our court system.

The ultimate appellate court, the Supreme Court, is dealing with a four-year backlog of cases. Exacerbating the situation is the fact that, in the past 40 years, there has been a six-fold increase in the number of High Court judges whereas the size of the Supreme Court has only doubled. Down the years, a plethora of new cases have necessitated the appointment of extra High Court judges in order to allow the system to operate effectively. However, the by-product of this is that more cases have been appealed to the Supreme Court, placing a large burden on the workload of the judges in that court. These delays pose significant issues for consumers of the legal process.

From the infrastructure outlined in the Bill, it is clear that the appeals clogging up the list system in the Supreme Court will be dealt with by the proposed Court of Appeal and will not need the engagement of the Supreme Court. This is to be welcomed by legal services, as it is in the interests of justice that a litigant be allowed to litigate a claim within a reasonable time. Unfortunately, under the current regime, this has not always been the case, given the aforementioned backlog. The establishment of the new court will change the situation dramatically and is to be welcomed. It is important that we give a clear indication to businesses nationally and internationally that we have the best court system possible. In particular, a permanent court of criminal appeal is an essential cog in the functioning of a criminal law system.

This court will have the benefit of ensuring that those who are found guilty will be able to avail of the appeals process more quickly, as will the Director of Public Prosecutions, DPP, when appealing the leniency of a sentence or otherwise. From the point at which the Bill is passed, the Supreme Court will be able to focus on cases of general public importance or on cases where there are specific reasons, in the interests of justice, for an appeal to be taken to that court. In doing this, we will ensure that the current delays will not be repeated. As a Member of the Oireachtas, I am proud to have campaigned for a "Yes" vote in last year's referendum. I am happy to commend the Bill, in its totality, to the House because I am of the view that it is in everyone's interests.