Mark Wall (Labour) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister to the House to discuss this important Bill, which the Labour Party will support. I note, as colleagues have said, that the programme for Government includes a call for a focus on reforming our family court system to ensure that proceedings involving children are dealt with in a manner that recognises the unique vulnerability and needs of children. That is the most important aspect of that statement.

Like many Members across the House, I have dealt with vulnerable families who seek assistance and guidance from the State and who fear the legal system and what it may mean for them and their families. That is an important aspect of what we and the Government, through this Bill, are trying to do today. I welcome any attempt to reform the family courts system that puts the vulnerability and needs of children first and attempts to remove that fear for so many families.

I am dealing with current cases where the first thing I have to do is to reassure vulnerable families that the law is indeed on their side and they should continue down the legal route. It is alarming that this has to be the case. Assisting vulnerable families in their hour of need through our legal system must be a priority for all of us in the House.

I want to speak to the purpose of the Bill and go through some of the points that have been raised. I agree with the main purpose of the Bill, namely, to provide for the establishment of family courts as a division of each court's jurisdiction level. There will be a family High Court, a family Circuit Court and family District Court.

I want to refer to the section of the Bill that makes provision for a family court to sit and hear family law proceedings in a different building. Colleagues have raised this issue. When I sit down families in Kildare, one of the most significant things they say is that they are intimidated by what goes on in court. That goes back to the fear I mentioned. I welcome that we are now at last talking about a different room, something that was mentioned by colleagues in the debate on the Bill. I also support the idea that family courts will be held on different days, which will take away that fear.

I welcome that judges will be assigned to the court on a full-time basis. I agree with Senator Martin, who referred to the expertise that will bring to the judicial system. It is an important aspect of the Bill. Ongoing professional training is also referenced in the Bill. In fairness, those of us in the House engage in ongoing professional training. It also has to apply to those involved in the judicial system because things change. That is an important aspect of the Bill.

The Minister mentioned cost in his opening speech. That is a prohibitive element for people engaging in law. I welcome the fact that the Minister is addressing that in the Bill.

The Minister also mentioned former judge, Mr. Justice Frank Clarke, and the closing date of 6 p.m. tomorrow for submissions to the civil legal aid review. Our legal aid centres are inundated with work at present and I seek a commitment from the Minister that he will continue to support them. I deal with a lot of people who are struggling to get appointments and be seen because of the number of cases that are going through the legal aid system. I welcome that a review is happening but I seek a comment from the Minister on where he sees that going. This all feeds into this issue because many people struggle to afford the cost of engaging with the legal system.

We all await the report from the review which is being carried out by the former Chief Justice, Mr. Justice Frank Clarke. We in the Labour Party look forward to the Bill. It is timely and we look forward to working with the Minister on the Bill in the House.