Martin Conway (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Bill. I also welcome the Minister for Justice and Equality back to the House. The Minister quoted one statistic we need to bear in mind, namely, the fact hat the number of judges in Ireland, per head of population, is well below the international average. It is appropriate that we increase the number of judges, given that the people voted for the creation of the Court of Appeal in a referendum last year. Furthermore, many more individuals are taking cases to court than would have done so previously. Again, this is to be welcomed. I noted last week a judge speaking about ensuring that the courts are accessible to ordinary people and that legal fees structures and so forth are not a barrier to somebody who feels aggrieved in looking for a remedy in the courts. The Government is doing its part to deal with this by means of the Legal Services Regulation Bill, which is currently going through the Houses. We all have to strive to ensure that just because one does not have resources, does not mean the remedies available through the courts system are not available to the individual.

One must look at the accessibility issue in terms of time. It is ridiculous that many cases take years to get through the courts system. That is simply because we do not have enough judges and did not have a Court of Appeal. The Government has a long record in respect of tackling these issues, which includes the referendum on judges’ pay and the introduction of the Legal Services Regulation Bill. This is the first time there has been any meaningful effort made to deal with the entire issue of the cost of legal services.

As more people go to the courts to seek remedies, we may be back here again to increase the numbers of judges. I would not have an issue with this because accessibility is not just about cost but also about time. For example, if an old person feels he or she has not been justly treated when he or she goes to court, he or she could be deceased before his or her case is heard. As a result, such an individual might never obtain the remedy to which he or she may have been justifiably entitled.

We must be cognisant of facilitating judges to be professional about how they do their business. There is no point having judges working 60 to 80 hours per week. I know District Court judges who work late into the evening to clear backlogs. In this day and age, we would like to be moving away from that. I welcome the Bill and sincerely hope it passes quickly. It will be interesting to see what amendments are tabled for Committee Stage. This legislation is necessary and important. It has been introduced because of the system that in place and the fact that the whole structure is choking to a large extent. I welcome legislation and wish it well.