I move: "That the Bill be now read a Second Time."
Many developments have taken place in relation to the courts since I took office. One of the serious deficiencies I had to tackle was the need for more courtrooms. I am pleased to announce that extra court accommodation in Dublin will be provided in part of the former Richmond Hospital which is being leased for conversion to court use. The extra courts provided in this manner will be available for use after the Christmas recess. Other options for courts are also being explored including the development of courts on the Four Courts site itself.
The main aim of the Courts and Court Officers Act, 1995, was to tackle the problem of arrears of cases and appeals awaiting hearing in the courts through the provision of extra judges and other measures. That Act has made a substantial contribution to alleviating the pressure on the courts system. We can already see the results of the appointment of extra judges and the results of a number of other sections of the Act relating to court procedures.
Three additional Supreme Court judges were appointed on 15 April 1996. That court can now sit in two divisions and as a result two appeals can be heard simultaneously. Since these appointments, 85 appeals have been heard, 70 of them in the Trinity Term since 5 June 1996. By comparison, in the 1995 Trinity Term 29 appeals were heard. It has gone from 29 appeals to 70 as a result of the appointment of those extra Supreme Court judges.
Two additional High Court judges were appointed on 9 July and a third on 19 July. While it is obviously too early to quantify the impact their appointments are making on delays in the hearing of cases in the High Court, I am confident that these appointments are already contributing to the elimination of arrears.
I have had cause to look again at the position with regard to arrears of cases before the Circuit Court. In the light of this, I decided to bring forward this Bill to amend the Courts Acts to increase the maximum statutory limit on the number of judges of the Circuit Court by three to 28 judges, including the President of the Circuit Court. It is intended that these additional appointments will be made as soon as possible.
This Bill, and the 1995 Act, provide for an additional ten Circuit Court judges, an increase of more than 50 per cent in the number of judges of the Circuit Court. Three additional judges of the District Court will be appointed as soon as possible. The Judicial Appointments Advisory Board is currently assessing the applications. Under the 1995 Act, we have already seen serious criminal cases being finalised in Cork Circuit Court which heretofore would have been delayed by transfer to Dublin. That was a mechanism used and favoured by criminals who wanted to get extra time out while waiting for their cases to be heard in Dublin. That lacuna in the legislation has now been closed.
The Law Reform Commission in last year's report on the law of bail points out that one way in which bail offending could be reduced is by reducing the length of time persons are at liberty before trial. In this context the commission recommended that a real attempt should be made to address the root cause of delay. The commission concluded that the appointment of more judges with appropriate court staff and back-up services would address the current situation where cases which are ready to proceed have to wait their turn because there is no judge to deal with the case. I am satisfied that providing for the appointment of more judges in the Circuit Court will help to address the problems associated with the length of time at the disposal of those persons remanded on bail who commit offences while waiting for their cases to be heard. To that extent this Bill forms part of the Government's constitutional and legislative response to the problem of offending on bail.
Developments in the family law area in recent years and changes to the limits of the jurisdiction of the courts in 1991 have had a major impact on the amount and complexity of business coming before the courts system. The growth in the number of cases and appeals arising from these factors has been particularly acute at Circuit Court level. There are unacceptably long family law lists, as pointed out by the Law Reform Commission in its report on family courts to which I will again refer in a moment. Those awaiting the hearing of personal injuries actions in the Circuit Court face long delays. Not only has the workload been expanding, the trend is towards more complex and, therefore, more time-consuming cases. Inevitably there is pressure too on the disposal of criminal business in the Circuit Court.
Appointing judges is not of course the only response available to deal with the problem of delays. Other measures can also play an important part in alleviating delays. The 1995 Act, for example, conferred additional powers on county registrars which will have the effect of saving a considerable amount of Circuit Court time as they are now empowered to deal with many motions that formerly only judges of the Circuit Court could handle.
I announced on 2 July that I had obtained the agreement of the President of the High Court, in relation to the Central Criminal Court, and the President of the Circuit Court for sittings of both courts in September of this year for an extra three weeks. I already indicated this morning that an extra 100 to 120 cases would be listed in each of the eight circuits during these three weeks as well as cases in the Central Criminal Court.
Overall I am confident that this combination of allocating resources in key areas and practical legislative and administrative reform will quickly equip the courts system with the means to make inroads on delays in hearing cases and appeals.
The courts system must also have a strategy for its longer term development. A comprehensive examination and review of the entire courts system was needed. That is why I set up a working group on a courts commission at the end of last year. It is chaired by Mrs. Justice Susan Denham and seeks to review the operation and financing of the courts system with particular regard to the quality of service provided to the public. I also asked the group to consider the matter of the establishment of a commission on the management of the courts as an independent and permanent body with financial and management autonomy in line with the commitment to that effect in the Government of renewal programme.
Last spring, the working group submitted their first report to me on the management and financing of the courts. The Government has approved in principle the primary recommendation of the report that an independent and permanent body to be known as the court service be established on a statutory basis to manage a unified courts system. I have asked the working group to submit a further report on how the establishment of the new courts service can be progressed. The working group will also be continuing its work on the review of the day-to-day operation of the courts system, and it will be submitting further reports to me as appropriate. This is valuable work and I would like to take this opportunity to again thank Mrs. Justice Denham and the other members of the working group for the very important work they have undertaken in this area.
The Law Reform Commission in its recent report on family courts examined the type of judicial and court structure that would be most suitable for dealing with family law cases. This report is being actively considered. These recommendations straddle the responsibilities of my Department and the Department of Equality and Law Reform. The report is, I understand, also being examined by the Working Group on a Courts Commission as part of its examination of the courts system in general.
Let me conclude by saying that I have put much emphasis on the reform of the courts system since becoming Minister for Justice — tackling immediate problems and implementing a long-term development strategy. Without both I do not believe we would be doing the job properly. The benefits of these reforms, along with other initiatives that I am taking in relation to our system of criminal justice, will ensure for the future that the courts and the other key elements of the system will have the capacity to respond effectively to changing circumstances generally and developments with regard to crime in particular. The concentration of resources and long-term planning is crucial to the operation of an efficient system of justice, criminal and civil, which, after all, is the hallmark of a truly democratic society.
Let me finish by saying that I believe, despite statements to the contrary, that the work done in our courts is as much an integral part of our criminal justice system as any legislation we might pass. Without an efficient, effective and speedy court system we will have the difficulties we are now facing, that I have inherited and that I am now taking action to improve.
