On behalf of the Minister for Justice, I move that the Courthouses (Provision and Maintenance) Bill, 1935, be read a Second Time. The Bill, as its Title shows, is intended to make better provision for securing the due provision and maintenance by the councils of county boroughs and counties of these courthouses and to restate in modern language, with comparatively minor amendments, the existing law as regards the provision and maintenance of courthouses by the local authorities. The Bill is necessary because the law on the subject is inadequate, clumsy and difficult to enforce especially since the setting up of the new system of courts in the 1924 Act.
Courthouses (Provision and Maintenance) Bill, 1935: Second Stage.
Question proposed.
There is a point in connection with this Bill.
The question was put but the Deputy may proceed.
The point in connection with this Bill is the maintenance of these institutions. You will have trouble so long as one person says a thing must be done and another person has to do it and pay for it. It would be better for the maintenance of the courthouses if this work were done by the State as a whole.
I think the general experience would be that the existing system is not unduly expensive if anomalies were removed.
The Minister will recollect that within the last month a judge adjourned his court because the place was uncomfortable and he could not stand the cold. That sort of thing will continue so long as you have the law as it is and as it is proposed to continue under this Bill.
There is a question with regard to Section 4 of the Bill:
Subject to the general or particular directions of the Minister, the custody and control of courthouse accommodation which is provided and maintained under this Act shall, where such courthouse accommodation is used for the purposes of a District Court and no other Court, be vested in the district court clerk for the district in which such accommodation is situate.
How will that affect the courthouses? Many of these are rented by the county councils and some of them are only wanted one day every month or two months. How will that affect the existence of these courts? They really belong to the county councils.
I suggest that that is a Committee point and it might be more appropriately raised on the Committee Stage.
Question put and agreed to.
Committee Stage fixed for Wednesday, 27th February, 1935.