Barry Ward (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

This week we saw what has been described as a protest by legal aid practitioners in courts throughout the country. It was done with the minimum of disruption but it was a very strong and well-attended statement by those who work in the criminal courts, solicitors and barristers. Their pay has not been restored and they are the only sector whose pay was cut at the time of the crash and who have not got it back. It is leading to major problems within the criminal bar. We also saw in the last few days that a case could not go on because there was no senior counsel available to do it. People are not willing to do those cases any more. I do not understand what the blockage is but there was a very clear statement of intent by practitioners this week. I want to call out in particular Darren Lalor and Luigi Rea who co-ordinated it. There is very strong feeling there and it is time the Minister took action. It is about time that we paid people what they deserve. People do not seem to understand that it is not just defence practitioners. This affects prosecutors as well. For those who think defence practitioners are the only ones affected, as we have discussed in this House on a number of occasions, it affects the ability to prosecute offences against people who have committed serious crimes. It is time we did something about it.

There are upgrades going on around the country in terms of electricity and other services. When that happens, businesses have their electricity cut off, usually for the day. It is welcome that we are improving the network and the facilities that are available to people. However, there must be greater consultation with businesses and more notice given. It is not okay to say to a retail business today that its power is going to be cut off on Monday. That is not enough time for them to prepare. There are other instances I am aware of where they were told it was to happen, they closed the business for the day and then the work did not take place. They closed the business for no good reason. We need to build on communication with businesses to minimise disruption and loss to them.