Trevor Ó Clochartaigh (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Ceart go leor. Go raibh maith agat. Access to the courts and to justice is a constitutional right and yet the expense involved can run into astonishingly high figures, thereby acting as a barrier to people seeking to exercise this right. We know that if cases move faster the chances of reducing costs are better. We know the plan under discussion envisages that the new court of appeal would deal with most cases that are currently dealt with by the Supreme Court, which would, therefore, reduce the higher court's workload and allow it to focus on the development of the law.

Two tests will decide what type of appeals the Supreme Court will hear. First, that they are of public importance and second, where it is in the interests of justice that the appeal be heard by the highest court in the State. In exceptional circumstances where these tests of public interest and the interests of justice are met, the Supreme Court will be able to hear appeals directly from the High Court. The Supreme Court in Ireland, unlike equivalent institutions in other common law jurisdictions, is the court of final appeal not only for constitutional matters but for all aspects of law from the lower courts.

Figures published last year by the Courts Service show that the court received 605 appeals in the previous year, a 21% increase on 2011. It gave judgments in 121 cases compared to 64 in the Supreme Court of the United States and 85 in the Supreme Court in London. It is important to welcome the creation of a new court where proceedings take place within a reasonable time as an inefficient court system is costly. Runaway legal costs hamper even small businesses and therefore I welcome the initiative to end this. In finishing I offer my support for the Bill and call on the Minister to take on board some of the concerns I have highlighted. Tá áthas orm go raibh mé in ann tacú leis an mBille agus go bhfuilimid ag dúl tríd na céimeanna éagsúla go tapaidh anocht.