Before Committee Stage commences, I would like to deal with a procedural matter relating to Bills to amend the Constitution. The substance of the debate on Committee Stage relates to the wording of the proposed constitutional amendment which is contained in the Schedules to the Bill. The sections of the Bill are merely technical. Therefore, in accordance with long-standing practice, consideration of the sections is postponed until consideration of the Schedules has been completed. Is that agreed? Agreed.
Thirty-third Amendment of the Constitution (Court of Appeal) Bill 2013: Committee and Remaining Stages
Aontaíodh Sceidil 1 go 8 go huile.
Schedules 1 to 8, inclusive, agreed to.
Aontaíodh ailt 1 go 8 go huile.
Sections 1 to 8, inclusive, agreed to.
Aontaíodh an Réamhrá.
Preamble agreed to.
Aontaíodh an Teideal.
Title agreed to.
Tuairiscíodh an Bille gan leasuithe agus glacadh é chun an breithniú deiridh a dhéanamh air.
Bill reported without amendment and received for final consideration.
Tairgeadh an cheist: "Go rithfear an Bille anois."
Question proposed: "That the Bill do now pass."
I thank the Deputies opposite for their support for this important Bill, which will effect the first major constitutional change to the structure of our courts system since 1937. If it is accepted by the people in the referendum, this proposal will improve our system of justice. It will ensure that appeals which are made after cases are determined, particularly in our High Court, can be dealt with more speedily.
It will ensure that should a referendum be successful, our Supreme Court will be able in the future to focus on cases of general public importance or cases where there are specific reasons in the interest of justices why an appeal should be taken by that court and determine such appeals. There will be many appeals that can be dealt with in the new proposed court of appeal that will not need the engagement of the Supreme Court. The creation of this new court will remove many of the pressures on the highest court of the land. We now have a substantial number of members of the High Court, far more than would have been the case when I began legal practice as a lawyer.
The reality is that our appellate court system has not kept pace with the demands of the 21st century. We owe it to our citizens to have the best possible court system available so that those who must resort to litigation as individual citizens are assured that if they must appeal decisions, appeals can be dealt with within a reasonable period of time. It is important that those involved in business and the commercial sector know that if there are issues in dispute that are important to their business, they can be resolved within a reasonable period of time. At a time when we are committed to increasing employment in this State and tackling some of the difficulties we have experienced in recent years, it is of vital importance that foreign businessmen and women, international companies and multinationals know that if they locate in Ireland, we have the best court system in the world. We have an independent Judiciary which serves this State well. We are modernising and updating the jurisdiction of our courts in the Courts and Civil Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2013, with which we will deal shortly. This very important reform will put in place a new court of appeal.
I very much appreciate the wholehearted support Deputies have given this Bill. It is of the greatest importance that as we move forward to holding a referendum, our citizens voting in it understand the importance of modernising our courts structure to the State and each and every citizen in the State. This new structural change is of relevance and benefit to every citizen in the State. Regardless of our circumstances, there is always the possibility that something will occur in our lives that leaves us with no choice but to use our courts system to achieve justice. It is important that justice is administered within a reasonable period of time. As the old saying goes, "justice delayed is justice denied". It is also important that we move away from a situation where the Supreme Court has a backlog of cases which it is estimated may take four years to complete without a further appeal being lodged. That is unfair to the judges in that court and to those who await the hearing of appeals.
This proposal will facilitate and put in place mechanisms that will enable at the decision of the Supreme Court some pending appeals to be dealt within the court of appeal. It is very important that this decision is made by an independent Judiciary rather than politicians in any sense of the term. We have created a constitutional architecture which, if accepted by the people, will facilitate that. Not only will it ensure that the delays that currently exist are not repeated in the future, it should provide a mechanism to address some of the existing backlog in a manner determined appropriate by our existing Supreme Court. I urge people to vote "Yes" in this referendum when it is held based on it being in all our interests that we have the best courts system in the world that can administer justice within a reasonable period of time and in a considered manner.
I hope that when a referendum is being held, all those represented in the House, be they members of political parties or none, will be supportive of this referendum and urge people to vote "Yes". I am very conscious that this could be perceived outside the House as something of a technical issue that is remote from their daily lives. I hope they would see their opportunity to vote on this as an opportunity to contribute to modernising our State and doing something positive with regard to the very important modernising and reform agenda we are applying to our courts system and the Courts Service. I hope we will have overwhelming support from those who vote in the referendum. I will conclude by saying that if that outcome is achieved, I look forward to bringing to the House at the earliest possible opportunity the court's establishment Bill that will be required so that this new court can be established. I confirmed to Members of the House on Second Stage that should the referendum we intend to hold in early October be successful, we envisage that between the enactment of the establishment Bill and the preparations that would be necessary for the court of appeal to be put in place, we will have our new court of appeal at the very latest by the autumn of 2014, which is the start of the law term. This new court of appeal will embrace within two divisions - effectively, a court of civil appeal and a court of criminal appeal. Having a permanent court of criminal appeal will also have the benefit of ensuring that where prosecutions have been taken, those who are found guilty can have their appeals processed more quickly than may be the case at present and appeals against leniency of sentence brought by the DPP in circumstances where someone has been convicted can be processed more quickly. There is a range of advantages to the public that this reform effects. I thank Members of the House for their support for the Bill and the steps we are taking.
Does Deputy Niall Collins wish to say anything?
I thank the Ceann Comhairle for giving me the opportunity to make a few concluding remarks. I reiterate that I and my party support the Bill and the referendum and will be encouraging people to support it. I agree with the Minister that the public should not view this as a technical piece of legislation because it will impact on people every single day of the week. I said in my contribution on Second Stage that justice delayed is justice denied - a belief we all subscribe to. Hopefully, this will feed into a reform of the courts system which will deliver speedier processes.
I warned, as did others, that we must look at the systems within our Courts Service in terms of resourcing. It is an issue every day of the week and we are all aware of it. We hear anecdotally of cases which do not commence when they are scheduled to for very fairly basic reasons such as members of An Garda Síochána not being able to turn up because they are not rostered to turn up and court support staff like stenographers not being available. There is a significant amount of resourcing that must be looked at and that is something we must keep in the back of our minds. Putting the structural reforms on the Statute Book is obviously step one in the process, but it must feed down into the day-to-day management and operation of the courts. From our perspective, we welcome anything that will give court users greater service and satisfaction derived from getting a timelier service. I am glad to put that on the record again.
Sinn Féin supports the Bill and will support a "Yes" vote in the referendum. When one considers the pressures on the Supreme Court at present the Bill is necessary. A total of 605 cases were appealed to the Supreme Court last year, which is a 21% increase on the year before. It issued judgments in 121 cases compared to 64 judgments issued by the US Supreme Court and 85 judgments issued by the supreme court in London. When one considers the respective population sizes this is not sustainable and must change.
We know from international best practice that if the Supreme Court is clogged up with appeals it is not able to focus on one of its most important functions, which is being a check on the Executive, examining the constitutionality of legislation, interpreting the Constitution and fulfilling its crucial independent role in our State and democracy. I hope this will free up the Supreme Court. There will be ten judges, which we also welcome, who will be led by the Chief Justice.
Arguably this is a very exciting development in terms of the potential of the Supreme Court to move to the next level but there is a little concern. I appreciate when we have discussions about judicial appointments that the Minister is rightly determined to defend the integrity of the Judiciary and to demonstrate it is independent. As I have stated previously, the eight Supreme Court judges are people of impeccable qualification and capacity, and arguably the most talented group we have had in the history of the State. Earlier today when discussing the Legal Services Regulation Bill a point was made with regard to perception, and there is a perception that political appointments are not truly independent. Particularly in terms of the Supreme Court we need to see judges who are really independent of thought and have no fear whatsoever of challenging the Government and holding it to account, and clarifying matters of legal importance.
I read an interesting article earlier this week which expressed concern. The bulk, if not all, appointments to the Supreme Court are from the High Court and therefore we can see their track record in terms of challenging the Government, and now we have freed up the Supreme Court to have this badly needed space to fulfil one of its primary roles and to begin to be more creative and imaginative in terms of challenging the Government we also need to ensure a good balance in how it is made up. Irish society comprises people who are liberal and conservative and come from various backgrounds. We need a Judiciary, particularly at Supreme Court level, which is representative of the various perspectives in Irish society in terms of the decisions it makes.
We will continue to debate this issue. I know the Minister is examining judicial appointments and I hope before the end of term to see legislation, which will have to be brought by the Minister, which will ensure judicial appointments are entirely independent of the Government. There is no question whatsoever about the independence of the Judiciary and it can fulfil its very critical role in our democracy.
Cuireadh agus aontaíodh an cheist.
Question put and agreed to.