Denis Naughten (Roscommon-Galway, Independent)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

45. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the steps being taken to address delays in processing probate applications; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [34858/24]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

As the Deputy is aware as Minister for Justice, I have no role in the exercise of Probate functions.

The Probate Office is an office of the High Court, and management of the courts is the responsibility of the judiciary and Courts Service, which are independent in exercising their functions under the Courts Service Act 1998 and given the separation of powers in the Constitution.

Probate functions are also carried out by County Registrars at District Probate Registries in 14 provincial court offices. The Probate General Office and Rules Office in Dublin is open to the legal profession and general public every morning, Monday to Friday, to facilitate general enquiries, copy requests, filing of court applications, Probate Officer Orders and caveats.

As part of its ongoing Modernisation Programme, the Courts Service is working to digitally transform the way in which applications for probate are processed. Earlier this year a new plain language information site was launched within the courts.ie website aiming to help applicants and solicitors in navigating the probate process. Furthermore, the eProbate project will deliver a facility to submit and track applications for Grants of Representation online via a public facing portal. This new digital solution is currently in development, with an expected public launch and rollout commencing in the first half of 2025.

The public facing portal will act as a single point of contact for users to submit and track their applications through the entire process. The electronic submission of applications through the online portal, combined with automated validation of key information at submission time will enable faster and more efficient processing of applications, with the aim of reducing waiting times.

The Report of the Expert Group and Conveyancing and Probate was approved by Government and published in July. This Group was established last December by the then Taoiseach, to carry out a review of current conveyancing and probate processes. In overall conclusion, the Group made recommendations on changes to both processes to make them more efficient and streamlined. An Implementation Group has been established to ensure oversight and delivery and its first meeting took place on 23 September 2024.

To that end, I am happy to report that great progress made over the summer months by the Probate Office to reduce probate processing times and as of 23 September 2024, the processing time for applications for probate to the Probate Office is now at 8 weeks, from a high of 20 weeks earlier in the year.

The Courts Service has also updated the Probate section of its website using the same User-Centric approach adopted throughout its Modernisation Programme to provide clear, concise information in plain English (NALA approved) that is accessible to both the general public and the legal profession.