There are 24 amendments circulated to Deputies which have been inserted by the Seanad in this Bill. I propose to ask the Dáil to accept all of these amendments, most of which were put up on representations from myself. Amendment No. 1 is purely a formal one; it merely changes the order in which the principal officers are mentioned so as to make the sequence correspond with the sequence in which the corresponding offices are mentioned in sub-section (1) of Section 3.
COURT OFFICERS BILL, 1926—FROM THE SEANAD.
1. In Section 3 (2), page 4, line 4 deleted, and after line 7 a new line inserted as follows: "An Examiner."
2. In Section 11, page 11, line 18, and also in lines 21-22, the words "immediately before the passing of this Act were" deleted, and the words "were formerly" substituted therefor.
3. In Section 12, page 6, lines 31-32, and also in lines 35-36, the words "immediately before the passing of this Act were" deleted, and the words "were formerly" substituted therefor.
4. In Section 14, page 6, the following words deleted in lines 59-60, "and by the Registrar to the Land Judge of the said Chancery Division."
5. In Section 15, page 7, the following words added at the end of the section, "and in relation to the Lord Chancellor for Ireland."
6. In Section 16, page 7, the following words added at the end of the section, "and in relation to the Lord Chancellor for Ireland."
7. In Section 20 (2), page 8, lines 9-10, the words "immediately before the passing of this Act" deleted and the word "formerly" substituted therefor.
8. In Section 21, page 8, all words after line 17, deleted to the end of the section and the following words substituted therefor:—
"either
(a) a barrister of not less than ten years standing who is then actually practising.
(b) a barrister who has practised for not less than ten years and is at the passing of this Act an officer attached to the Supreme Court, the High Court, or the Chief Justice."
9. In page 8, before Section 23, a new section inserted as follows:—
No person shall be appointed under this Act to be a probate officer unless either—
(a) he is at the time of his appointment employed in an office established under this Part of this Act and has during the whole of the twelve years next preceding been employed in an office or offices established under this Part of this Act or attached to the former Supreme Court of Judicature or of a Judge thereof or the Lord Chancellor for Ireland or the Lord Chief Justice of Ireland, or
(b) he was immediately before the commencement of this Part of this Act a probate registrar or assistant probate registrar attached to the High Court.
10. In page 8, before Section 23, a new section inserted as follows:—
"No person shall be appointed under this Act to be an Examiner unless either—
(a) he is at the time of his appointment employed in an office established under this Part of this Act and has during the whole of the twelve years next preceding been employed in an office or offices established under this Part of this Act or attached to the former Supreme Court of Judicature or a judge thereof or the Lord Chancellor for Ireland or the Lord Chief Justice of Ireland, or
(b) he was immediately before the commencement of Part I. of the Courts of Justice Act, 1924 (No. 10 of 1924) a chief clerk or assistant chief clerk in the Chambers of a Judge of the Chancery Division of the then existing High Court of Justice."
11. In Section 27, (1), page 9, line 53, the words "High Court of Justice of" deleted, and the words "Courts of Justice in" substituted therefor.
12. In Section 27, page 10, before sub-section (3) a new sub-section inserted as follows:—
"(3) All chattels and all documents which immediately before the commencement of this Part of this Act are deposited for safe custody or otherwise with the Accountant-General of the High Court of Justice in Saorstát Eireann shall upon the commencement of this Part of this Act and without any further order be transferred to the Accountant of the Courts of Justice and be held by him for the same purposes as such chattels and documents were respectively held by the said Accountant-General immediately before such commencement."
13. In Section 31, page 11, the figures "49" deleted in line 53, and the figures "54" substituted therefor.
14. In Section 31, page 11, line 54, before the word "nothing" the words "and Section 60 (which relates to the grant of Civil Service Certificates to certain officers)" inserted, and in line 56, after the word "Act" the words in brackets "(except Section 60)" inserted.
15. In Section 42, page 15, before sub-section (3) a new sub-section inserted as follows:—
"(3) Whenever there is in the opinion of the county registrar reason to believe that any such summons-server has misconducted himself or displayed gross incapacity in the performance of his duties, the county registrar may suspend such summons-server from the performance of his duties for any period or periods not exceeding altogether one month pending the decision of the Minister on the matter."
16. In Section 43, page 15, the following words added at the end of the section:—
"save that every such official assignee and his staff (if any) shall henceforth be attached to the Circuit Court and that sub-sections (1) and (2) of Section 41 (which relate to the staff attached to the Circuit Court) of this Act shall apply to the post or situation of each such official assignee and of each member of his staff (if any) on and from the occurrence of the next vacancy in each such post or situation."
17. In Section 44 (4), page 16, line 23, immediately before the word "service" the word "pensionable" inserted.
18. In page 16, Section 45 deleted and a new section substituted therefor as follows:—
"(1) The Minister shall divide every district prescribed by him under Section 68 of the Courts of Justice Act, 1924 (No. 10 of 1924) into such and so many convenient areas (in this Part of this Act referred to as district court areas) as he shall think proper and may divide any such district into different district court areas for the purposes of different classes of business transacted in the District Court.
(2) The Minister shall appoint one or more convenient places in every district court area or within one mile of the boundary of such area in which, and such and so many convenient days and hours at which, the District Court shall be held for the purpose of transacting for such district court area the business for the transaction of which such area was delimited.
(3) It shall be lawful for the Minister from time to time, as he shall consider expedient, to do all or any of the following things, that is to say:—
(a) vary or abolish any district prescribed by him under the said Section 68 of the Courts of Justice Act, 1924;
(b) create any new such district;
(c) vary or abolish any district court area;
(d) create any new district court area;
(e) vary the class or classes of business for which any district court area is delimited;
(f) alter the places or very the days or hours appointed under this section for holding the District Court in or for any district court area.
(4) The district court areas created under this section shall for all purposes take the place of and be substituted for the court districts created under Section 3 of the District Justice (Temporary Provisions) Act, 1923 (No. 6 of 1923), and the sittings of the District Court for the transaction for any such district court area of the business for which such district court area is delimited shall be held in the places on the days, and at the hours appointed therefor under this section."
19. In Section 48 (4), page 17, in line 54, after the word "appointed" where it first occurs the words "on or" inserted.
20. In Section 53 (3), page 19, line 25, the word "estate" deleted and the word "estates" substituted therefor.
21. In Section 61, page 22, sub-section (4) deleted and a new sub-section substituted therefor as follows:—
"(4) Subject to the provisions of this Act prescribing qualifications for particular officers, every existing officer or servant who is not a temporary officer or servant shall (subject to the exceptions hereinafter mentioned) be offered employment in a situation under this Act carrying not less salary than the situation held by him as such existing officer or servant at the passing of this Act, except that this sub-section shall not apply to any existing officer or servant who is at the passing of this Act over the age of sixty-five years, or has then served for more than forty years in court offices or in posts or situations attached to a court or a judge, or is in the opinion of the Minister physically unfit for employment in a situation under this Act, and that the provision of this sub-section as to salary shall not apply in the case of a clerk of the crown and peace who is offered employment as a county registrar."
22. In Section 61 (5) (c), page 22, after the figures "1923" in line 60, the following words inserted "or other Acts authorising the grant to him of a pension or other allowance."
23. In Section 61 (5) (d), page 22, lines 66-69 inclusive deleted and the following substituted therefor:—"office, but every such waiver shall be subject to the condition that in the event of his subsequently retiring from such employment because of his having reached an age limit or being discharged from such employment for any reason other than misconduct, incapacity or ill-health, his allowance or other compensation under the Superannuation Acts, 1834 to 1923 or other Acts authorising the grant to him of a pension or other allowance as modified for and applied to him by this sub-section shall not be less than the compensation he would have been entitled to under the said Article 10."
24. In Section 61, page 23, a new sub-section added at the end of, as follows:—
"(6) An existing officer who is offered employment in a situation under this Act may, with the consent of the Minister, accept such employment provisionally and postpone his final acceptance or rejection of such employment for any period not extending beyond eighteen months from the commencement of the Part of this Act relating to such situation, and if in any such case he finally accepts such employment within such period such acceptance shall relate back to and take effect as from the date of the provisional acceptance."
The Minister moves agreement with the Seanad in all the amendments to this Bill that they have passed. No point is being raised as to taking these amendments together.
Question—"That the Dáil agree with the Seanad in the amendments"—put and agreed to.
The Seanad will be acquainted accordingly.