Barry Ward (Fine Gael)
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Gabhaim buíochas leis an Aire Stáit as ucht teacht isteach sa Teach chun an cheist seo a fhreagairt. Last week, the Courts Bill 2023 was passed by the Oireachtas. Primary among its functions is to increase the number of judges in all courts, including the Court of Appeal, High Court, Circuit Court and District Court. It is a very welcome measure. As I have said on several occasions in this Chamber, we are lucky to have a functional justice system, including a criminal justice system, in this country. We have courts that work and judges who apply the rule of law and respect the individuals who are before them without fear of, or favour to, any person.

However, a criticism that consistently arises in regard to our Courts Service and court system is that there are delays in dealing with matters. As a criminal law practitioner, I know that if I ask for a trial date in the Circuit Court today, I will get one in the second half of 2025. Judges go out of their way to do what they can for people who are in custody, cases in which a child is involved or where there is anything else that would bring an urgency or priority to a case. That is as it should be and it is true in all courts. Notwithstanding that, there are still substantial delays in getting cases of all kinds dealt with in the courts. That is why the McManus report recommended an increase in the number of judges, by one in the Court of Appeal, three in the High Court, four in the Circuit Court and seven in the District Court. I am looking forward to those appointments being made in the coming weeks and months. The increase in numbers makes perfect sense.

However, as I have raised with the Ministers, Deputies Harris and McEntee, there is a need not just for more judges but for improvements in the infrastructure that supports those judges. This includes an increase in Courts Service staff and, perhaps most important, more courtrooms in which cases can be heard. I raise this matter to ascertain what plans the Department of Justice has for providing spaces in which cases can be heard throughout the country. We have a dedicated Criminal Courts of Justice building on Parkgate Street in Dublin. It houses 22 courts, all of which will be in use today. The building is at capacity. Where are the new judges of the Circuit Court and Central Criminal Court going to sit? Where will the trials take place? What provisions have been made to ensure they can take place? Are there plans within the Department, for example, to build more court spaces? Given the Criminal Courts of Justice building is full, are there plans to take other buildings in Dublin city for this purpose?

I am speaking specifically about Dublin but the same issues apply in every large town and city around the country. We have been talking in recent weeks about legal aid provision. I will not get on that particular hobbyhorse this morning. However, it is important to remember that there are people affected by these issues in every county, town, village and Dáil constituency in the country. The Department must put measures in place to ensure the progressive action it is taking in increasing the number of judges will actually lead to a change in the functioning of the system. The measures it puts in place now will benefit every community in the country. I recognise that both budgetary and legislative measures have been put in place by the Department to improve the efficiency of the courts. I hope the Minister of State is able to tell me what is being done by the Department of Justice to anticipate not just technological advances, which are hugely important, but also the need for more physical spaces.

Martin Heydon (Kildare South, Fine Gael)
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I thank Senator Ward for the practical and important points he has made on this issue. I convey the apologies of my colleague, the Minster for Justice, Deputy Harris, who regrets that he cannot be here due to another commitment. He assures the Senator that it is a priority for the Government to resource the courts to administer justice efficiently and effectively for members of the public in all areas of law. As the Senator is aware, management of the courts, including operational and logistical functions, is the responsibility of the Judiciary and Courts Service, which are independent in exercising their functions under the Courts Service Act 1998 and in accordance with the separation of powers in the Constitution.I assure the Senator that it is a priority for Government to resource the courts to administer justice efficiently and effectively for members of the public in their access to justice in all areas of law.

The final report of the judicial planning working group, which was established to consider the number and type of judges required to ensure the efficient administration of justice over the next five years, was published on 27 February 2023. Officials in the Department of Justice are in the process of establishing an implementation programme to oversee the delivery of the recommendations. Based on these recommendations, an additional 24 judges were approved by Government on 21 February for appointment in 2023, with a further recommendation of 20 more judges following the implementation of reforms and efficiencies. Three of these appointments have already been made and I am glad to say the Government made two further nominations this week.

The Department of Justice is committed to driving the modernisation and digital first agenda across the entire justice sector and this is reflected in the additional funding of €2.5 million provided in budget 2023 for the courts modernisation programme. This builds on significant investment in recent years. The Courts Service modernisation programme is the ten-year programme that will deliver a new operating model for the Courts Service, designed around the user with simplified and standardised services and accessible data to inform decisions all delivered through digital solutions.

The Minister particularly welcomes the commitment set out by the Courts Service Corporate Strategic Plan 2021-2023 to maximise the use of digital technologies to provide an improved and user-centred service. This commitment is integral to making our justice system work better for everyone by improving systems and increasing efficiencies. Towards the end of 2020, the Courts Service committed an investment in excess of €2.2 million to expand the number of courtrooms that are technology enabled. These courtrooms support remote and hybrid hearings and allow parties, witnesses, prisoners or members of An Garda Síochána to dial in remotely to a physical courtroom and support digital evidence display. The project brought the number of up-to-date technology courtrooms from 55 in 2020 to 120 at the end of 2022. Investment is committed to continuing the expansion of technology enabled courts over 2023 and 2024.

In April 2022, the courts modernisation programme approved an additional investment of €3.1 million for a three-year programme to provide 54 more video technology enabled courtrooms. These modernisation initiatives and investments will complement a range of other important strategic developments aimed at improving access to justice. These include the first national family justice strategy and the civil justice efficiencies and reform implementation plan.

Barry Ward (Fine Gael)
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I thank the Minister of State very much. I acknowledge that the Minister, Deputy Harris, is dealing with Priority Questions in the Dáil this morning. I accept entirely and understand that he is not able to be here. I am grateful to the Minister of State for coming to the Chamber.

I acknowledge what the Minister of State said about the progress made in the Department on streamlining courts processes through investment in technology. Every user of the court, whoever it may be, whether a lawyer, litigant, witness or garda, welcomes the opportunity to have a more efficient and effective Courts Service.

I note the Minister of State made no specific mention of the creation of additional physical spaces. Could he convey to the Minister the need for more courtrooms, if I can put it as bluntly as that? We need more rooms in which cases can take place. The wonderful thing about Dublin is that we have many courthouses that are no longer in use. Balbriggan and Swords courthouses, for example, operate on alternate days. Rathfarnham has a courthouse. Not long ago, there was talk of closing Dún Laoghaire courthouse. Thankfully, that did not go ahead. There are courthouses in Dublin and towns throughout the country that could be reused. They could be brought up to specification and used for cases to take pressure off the central buildings. I ask the Minister of State to bring back to the Department the need to actually create physical spaces as well as the technological environment for improved cases.

Martin Heydon (Kildare South, Fine Gael)
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I thank Senator Ward again for raising these points, which I undertake to bring back to Department of Justice officials and the Minister, Deputy Harris. I acknowledge that the Senator speaks from a level of expertise and personal experience on this matter.

The Government endeavours to fill all judicial vacancies at the earliest opportunity and, as I said, a number of such vacancies have been filled recently. We have also committed to investing more than €270 million over the next five years in capital projects in the justice sector as part of the National Development Plan 2021-2030, which represents a significant increase on previous years. This includes a number of Courts Service projects to be completed during the period of the plan, including the development of the family courts complex on the Hammond Lane site in Dublin.

On an infrastructural level, the Courts Service is continuing to examine what future buildings, or changes to existing buildings, may be needed to best support court users as part of the service's modernisation programme and its implementation plan for the report of the judicial planning working group. That summary response addresses the Senator's point that there is a clear focus on physical infrastructure, not just the modernisation piece. It is appropriate that we reflect on progress being made in both areas. I undertake to bring back the points raised by the Senator about that need for additional capacity.

Victor Boyhan (Independent)
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Can it be taken now?