Paul Gavan (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The Minister of State is welcome to the House. Sinn Féin fully supports this Bill. We think it is important to see it pass quickly. I commend the Minister of State on his work.

The Government established the judicial planning working group to report on the number of judges required and their skillsets. This Bill, as we know, arises out of recommendations of that working group. The group reported in February 2023 with the recommendation that the number of judges be increased, along with other reforms. The Bill amends several references to the maximum number of judges certain courts, namely, the Court of Appeals, the Circuit Court and the District Court, can have, which are outlined in the legislation.

I have to ask the question: how did we get here? How did we get to this state of play in terms of our judicial system? A damning report by the European Commission published last year ranks Ireland as the worst country in Europe with regard to judicial resourcing. This State had 3.27 judges per 100,000 people in 2020. The European average was 17.6 judges. That is worth repeating. Our State has 3.27 judges per 100,000 people, while the European average is 17.6 judges.

I have to make a political point. Fine Gael likes to term itself as the party of the law and order. It has been in power for 12 years and has let this state of play occur. It is an absolute disaster and one that has real consequences for people who all of us know in respect of waiting for court dates and justice.I have someone very close to me waiting for a court date. She waited two years. She has a date but we know it will probably be postponed again at the end of the year. When you have issues that cause tremendous upset and trauma and you then find the judicial system leaves you to twist in the wind for years, it is an appalling failure of the State. That is the only way I can put it. I have to put the charge, very clearly, that it is an appalling failure of successive Fine Gael Governments to address this issue. The commission and other stakeholders such as the Bar Council have warned that this under-resourcing is also a danger to the State's economic competitiveness, especially as Ireland is reliant on tech and financial service sectors where there is a large demand for legal services. There are widespread delays throughout the judicial system and the State has been reprimanded by the Council of Europe over the wait times for criminal proceedings to begin. I understand a separate Bill is due to come before the House to give compensation where delays to criminal proceedings have violated the human rights of defendants. That is how bad the State has got.

Sinn Féin accepts the establishment of the working group was an important recognition by the Government that the situation in courts throughout the country was untenable. As others have said, justice delayed is justice denied and the delays in many areas of law, especially in family cases, were and are intolerable. Steps to address this are important and I note the Minister of State has promised 24 new judges in the coming weeks, with a further 20 to follow. That is very welcome. However, this increase, while in line with the recommendations of the working group will still leave our country well below the European average with regard to judges per capita. Other proposals such as a judicial resources planning model and more flexible working arrangements are positive. Judges also need to have a clear career path and the right level of specialisation, especially in areas such as commercial and family law. The forthcoming review of Circuit Court and District Court areas must also bear in mind access to justice for those in isolated rural areas, rather than just seek efficiencies.

I will deal the issue of the retirement age. Of course, we should be having a conversation about the retirement age but, for God's sake, let us not have it exclusive to judges. We need to have that conversation across broader society, to give people the flexibility to choose when they retire. That is a conversation we have had in a number of committees, including the enterprise committee of which I am a member. What we have not seen so far is Government action to allow that flexibility to be built in. Of course, let us have flexibility for judges, but let us have it for everyone.

I ask the Minister of State to forgive me as I will go out to join my colleagues in solidarity with our Palestinian brothers and sisters but I will check back to see his response to my speech. Sinn Féin supports this Bill.