Cormac Devlin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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586. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the status of the proposed arrangements for special exemption orders; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [49559/22]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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As part of Budget 2023 I, along with Ministers Donohoe and McGrath, announced a halving of Special Exemption Order court and excise fees. The court fee for each Special Exemption Order is now €150, rather than €300 as was the case previously. Excise duty, payable to the Revenue Commissioners, is now €55 rather than €110 as was the case previously. This means that the cost of a Special Exemption Order comes to a total of €205 instead of €410.

As the Deputy will be aware, the Justice Plan 2022 commits to publishing and enacting new laws to update and modernise alcohol licensing laws in Ireland. I am delivering on that commitment by preparing Heads of a General Scheme of a Sale of Alcohol Bill.

The objective of the proposed Bill is to repeal the Licensing Acts 1833 to 2018, the Registration of Clubs Acts 1904 to 2008, and the Public Dance Hall Act 1935, and to replace them with updated and streamlined provisions more suited to the 21st century. In addition, codifying alcohol licensing law into a single Act will make it more accessible and user-friendly for the licensed trade, courts, Gardaí and the public. Special Exemption Orders are being reviewed in the context of the Sale of Alcohol Bill.

Work on the consolidation and reform of the licensing laws and the drafting of the General Scheme is advancing well and it is intended to progress this legislation in the months ahead. Submissions from stakeholders will, of course, be carefully considered in the context of publication of the forthcoming Bill.

Details of the proposed reform will be included in the General Scheme when published.

Ivana Bacik (Dublin Bay South, Labour)
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587. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality if she will report on the establishment of an environmental and planning law court as set out in the programme for Government; if a budgetary allocation for the establishment of this court was made in budget 2023; if so, the amount; the number of judges envisioned to sit on this court; the number of staff and their relevant grades who will be assigned to work for the court; when the relevant legislation required to set up the court will be brought before the Houses of the Oireachtas; and when she expects the court to be established and in a position to hear cases. [49584/22]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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As the Deputy may be aware, both the Programme for Government and the Government's Housing for All Strategy commits to the establishment of a new division of the High Court dealing with planning and environmental issues. The Programme for Government specifies that the new law court will be managed by specialist judges and established on the same basis as the existing commercial court model.

Officials in my Department have been working with the Courts Service and the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage in advancing the commitment and have put in place a Steering / Implementation group to progress this matter. The resourcing of the new Court, along with its scope, how it will operate, and the steps involved in its establishment, are being examined by the group. Bilateral discussions are also ongoing between officials in my Department and the Department of Environment, Climate and Communications.

In parallel, the Judicial Planning Working Group (JPWG), established by my Department in April 2021, is due to report in the coming months. The JPWG was set up in line with commitments in the Programme for Government and Justice Action Plan 2021 to "Establish a working group to consider the number of and type of judges required to ensure the efficient administration of justice over the next five years". Its recommendations will help inform any future judicial resourcing needs, including for the proposed new Planning and Environmental Law Court.

I expect that the proposed approach to the establishment of the new Court will be announced before the end of 2022, with implementation progressing in 2023.