Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

At the moment, despite the work of the wonderful people who work in family law, the system does not work for people. Families are waiting too long and seeing cases adjourned because it is not a family-friendly environment and the system was not built for these difficult situations or even for the less complex cases. Thankfully, we are starting to see the effect of the additional judges and the investment in our courts. Only in the past year, the number of District Court and Circuit Court sittings has risen, as has that of criminal prosecution outcomes. Likewise, in family law, the number of cases that have been finalised has increased by about 10% in that short space of time. With the greater number of staff our Judiciary has and also the 20 on top of that, I am confident that we will start to see progress on working through the backlogs and that it will provide space for these courts to be established in order that there will be judges who deal solely with and are focused on family law cases. That is what families deserve.

In respect of Hammond Lane, I am pleased that during the summer - I think in July - we were in the courts to move it on to the next stage.It has planning permission, and I am pleased that we are making progress. I hope we will start to see building at the big hole in the ground I pass every day when I go home from Dublin. It is a fabulous structure. Let us consider circumstances where families are currently located in buildings that were never meant to be courts, where people who are going through difficult times are facing one another and have to negotiate in corridors and out on the street. It is not appropriate. It is not where any of that should happening. I want to see this legislation passed and I want to make sure that when it is enacted, the resources, structures, infrastructure and funding will be available. That is why this work has been happening well before the legislation is enacted.

I agree that it has taken longer than I would have liked even to get to this point. We are not just starting to work on the amendments I had hoped to have for Committee Stage, we have been working on them. To get to the Senator's point, it is complex. It is not straightforward. Even providing that clarification has been more complex than we expected. However, I am determined to ensure that those who are working in the family law space are confident and happy that they will be able to do their jobs to the best of their ability and above all, that families affected by separation and in instances where there is abuse are protected and supported every step of the way.