Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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117. To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality if her attention has been drawn to the current and potential future delays in probate registration in County Mayo as a result of the non-replacement of the recently retired probate officer; the plans of the Courts Service for this position; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [9748/17]

Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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As the Deputy is aware, the Probate Office is an office of the High Court and management of the courts is the responsibility of the Courts Service which is independent in exercising its functions under the Courts Service Act 1998. Probate functions are also carried out by County Registrars at District Probate Registries in a number of provincial court offices.

However, in order to be of assistance to the Deputy, I have had enquiries made and the Courts Service has informed me that while a staff member in the Courts Service office in Castlebar has recently retired, local management were aware of the pending retirement and another staff member has been trained in the processing of probate applications in that District Probate Registry. The examination of probate applications requires a thorough legal examination of documents and it takes a new staff member a period of at least six months to acquire a satisfactory knowledge in this area. However, the staff member will be available shortly to commence processing applications and every effort will be made to minimise any delays in the interim.

The Courts Service has also informed me that backlogs in the probate system are a cause for concern and a review of the probate system is being carried out at present. It is anticipated that a report with recommendations for the modernisation of the process will be presented by mid 2017 to the Senior Management Team of the Courts Service and to the Courts Service Board for their consideration.