Mark Daly (Fianna Fail)
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I welcome the Minister for Justice to the House. I thank her for coming to Seanad Éireann this morning.

Lorraine Clifford-Lee (Fianna Fail)
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Gabhaim buíochas leis an Aire. Níor theastaigh mé í a chur faoi bhrú. Chuir mé an cheist seo isteach i mBéarla inné. Cé go bhfuil mé ag úsáid na Gaeilge anois, níl mé ag súil le freagra i nGaeilge uaithi ar an ócáid seo muna bhfuil sí in ann é sin a thabhairt. Glacaim leis nach raibh aon réamheolas aici faoi seo.

Is mian liom labhairt faoi fhorbairt an ionaid nua cúirte dlí teaghlaigh ag Lána an Chrochaire, nó Hammond Lane mar a thugtar air i mBéarla, anseo i mBaile Átha Cliath. Tá an suíomh seo suite in aice leis na Ceithre Cúirteanna. Fógraíodh an fhorbairt sin don chéad uair in 2014 tar éis blianta de cháineadh ó dhlíodóirí nach raibh na cúirteanna dlí teaghlaigh i mBaile Átha Cliath oiriúnach nó fiú sábháilte. Theip ar an Rialtas ag an am an tionscadal seo a chur chun cinn agus tá poll ollmhór sa talamh ag an suíomh seo le breis agus deich mbliana anuas. Níor léiríodh riamh aon phráinn maidir leis an bhforbairt seo. Tá an fhorbairt seo ardaithe agam go minic le roinnt Airí Dlí agus Cirt síos tríd na blianta, an Teachta Flanagan agus Frances Fitzgerald ina measc, ach ní dhearnadh aon dul chun cinn ar an ábhar riamh. Bhí mé an-sásta gealltanas a fheiceáil sa chlár Rialtais maidir leis an bhforbairt seo. Bhí mé dóchasach go dtabharfadh an Rialtas nua tús áite don ionad nua dlí teaghlaigh, atá ag teastáil go géar le blianta fada anuas, faoi dheireadh. Go luath tar éis an Teachta McEntee teacht i mbun oifige mar Aire Dlí agus Cirt, d'fhógair sí go raibh maoiniú faighte aici chun na cúirteanna teaghlaigh nua a fhorbairt faoi dheireadh. Cuireadh fáilte ollmhór roimhe sin ach, ón méid atá ar eolas agam, níl aon dul chun cinn déanta ar an suíomh, faraor. Dá bhrí sin, is mian liom mionsonraí a fháil ón Aire.

Tá an-imní orm faoin easpa dul chun cinn. Tá géarghá leis an ionad cúirte dlí teaghlaigh seo ó dhaoine a úsáideann na cúirteanna ag am an-deacair ina saol agus ó na daoine a oibríonn ann go laethúil, na dlíodóirí agus na hoifigigh chúirte san áireamh. Tá na daoine a úsáideann na cúirteanna teaghlaigh an-leochaileach. Táim ag déanamh tagairt do mhná atá ag fulaingt le foréigean teaghlaigh.Táim ag tagairt do pháistí atá faoi chúram an Stáit agus tuismitheoirí atá ag iarraidh caomhnóireachta, cead cúirte agus íocaíochtaí cothabhála a shocrú tar éis briseadh caidrimh. Chomh maith leis sin, is timpeallacht oibre an-strusmhar é do dhlíodóirí, agus cuireann an easpa áiseanna níos mó struis ar dhaoine. Níl aon seomraí feithimh ann, mar shampla, agus is minic a tharlaíonn coimhlint dá bharr sin. Ionsaíodh roinnt dlíodóirí teaghlaigh agus breithiúna de bharr deacrachtaí a thagann chun cinn go rialta.

Luaigh coiste dlí agus cirt an Oireachtais forbairt an ionaid chúirte sa tuarascáil a foilsíodh le déanaí, inar mhol sé dul chun cinn práinneach a dhéanamh ina leith. Chomh maith leis sin, tá muintir an cheantair sin tinn tuirseach de bheith ag féachaint ar an suíomh ollmhór tréigthe seo. Faillí oifigiúil Stáit sa cheantar atá ann. Tá páistí ag fás aníos sa cheantar agus déantar faillí iomlán orthu leis an suíomh tréigthe seo. Níl sé ceart ná cothrom. Téann sé seo i bhfeidhm ar mhuintir na háite agus orm féin mar Bhaile Átha Cliathach, mar Sheanadóir agus mar dhlíodóir. Bheinn buíoch as eolas cuimsitheach faoi stádas reatha na forbraíochta seo. An bhfuil an t-ionad fós ar an mbóthar ceart le haghaidh oscailt i gceann trí bliana?

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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Tá an-bhrón orm ach beidh mé ag caint i mBéarla, if that is okay.

I thank Senator Clfford-Lee for raising this important matter today and for giving me the opportunity to provide clarity on some issues. I reassure her that we are on track, progressing and going through the stages. As the Senator has rightly outlined, funding of €100 million was allocated, so we intend to make sure that money is spent and that the hole in the ground is filled as soon as possible. I was down near the site only recently and could see it. I imagine those who are looking at it all the time are wondering if it will ever happen, but I reassure Senator Clifford-Lee that it is very much still a priority and we want to make sure this happens.

Construction of a purpose-built family law court complex at Hammond Lane is a key project in the National Development Plan 2021-2030, as I have just mentioned. It is envisaged this will be part of the overall public private partnership, PPP, justice sector project, which, as the Senator and other colleagues are probably aware, will also see the construction of two new Garda stations in Clonmel and Macroom. The complex will be built with the specific needs of family law users in mind, and the intention is that it will provide the modern facility where family law cases can be held in a much more dignified, secure and non-threatening environment with all the range of support services at hand. It will replace the present inadequate and fragmented facility for family law which is stretched across central Dublin at Dolphin House, Chancery Street, Phoenix House and in the Four Courts. Again, I was in Dolphin House not that long ago and, as Senator Clifford-Lee rightly said, the seating arrangements, where people are on top of each other and there is no space, and the fact there are no separate rooms is not adequate, particularly when dealing with such difficult and often traumatic and complex situations and where children are involved and space is needed to be able to support them.

Following approval by the courts board, the Courts Service submitted a final preliminary business case. The Department of Justice, as the approving authority under the public spending code, provided approval in principle to the Courts Service and to An Garda Síochána for the other two projects in June 2022 and to proceed with the project under that particular PPP mechanism. Formal project structures are being established with the various stakeholders, including the Office of Public Works, OPW, and the National Development Finance Agency, NDFA, to progress the project as quickly as possible. This is subject to detailed planning and design work, which is currently being undertaken by the OPW architectural services. It is being informed by consultations undertaken with the relevant stakeholders operating in the area of family law, legislative developments and outputs from family law modernisation initiatives. There is a lot of engagement happening now to make sure the design is as it needs to be and, because it started some years ago, it is as up to date as possible and, essentially, will work in parallel with the developments that are happening at a legislative basis and in terms of our family law justice plan. Once design work is complete, the Part 9 planning process will begin.

I am determined to overhaul the operation of the family justice system to ensure we have a more efficient and user-friendly family court that puts families and children in particular at the centre of its work. This is a key commitment in my justice plan . We have a commitment to enact the family court Bill. This is to create a dedicated family court within the existing court structure to provide for court procedures that support a faster but also less adversarial resolution of disputes. The purpose of the legislation is the establishment of the dedicated family court, to improve levels of judicial expertise and training in family law matters, and to streamline family law proceedings, thereby making them more user-friendly and less costly. The general scheme of the family court Bill is with the office of Parliamentary Counsel at the moment and drafting is in progress. I very much hope to have it brought to Cabinet and to be able to publish it in the coming weeks.

Once the design stage is approved, the project will go to planning, and once planning is approved, it will then go to make sure we have the right costings, after which it will go to tender. All of those stages are moving along. As I said, we have approved to the most recent stage in June. I hope we will have the design finalised by the end of this year. We can then go to planning where there is obviously a timeline in place that I cannot necessarily predict, but once the planning process starts, there is a set timeline where people can object and we have to go through all of that. Once that happens, then the costing is approved. We are moving in the right trajectory. It is just making sure we can, and I am keeping the pressure on so that continues as quickly as possible.

Lorraine Clifford-Lee (Fianna Fail)
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Cathain a bheidh dul chun cinn déanta ar an suíomh sin? Níl sé soiléir ón méid a dúirt an tAire. An bhfuilimid ar an mbóthar ceart le hoscailt i gceann trí bliana? An bhfuil aon chonstaicí ann?

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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Once the process continues as I have outlined, which means the design stage is approved and it goes through planning with no complications or issues - obviously we cannot predict how that will go but I assume there will not be any objections - and once the exact costing for this is agreed and it goes to tender, then we will be moving into ground and getting things moving. The year 2026 is still a target I intend to achieve and to reach, but obviously we have to go through all of these steps I have just mentioned. There are things that get in the way, but everything I am doing is to try to make sure we have as smooth and as streamlined a process as possible.

Lorraine Clifford-Lee (Fianna Fail)
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Chun a chinntiú, an bhfuilimid ar an mbóthar ceart fós?

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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Yes.

Lorraine Clifford-Lee (Fianna Fail)
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Go raibh míle maith agat.