The other day the Minister brought forward as a reason for passing this Bill that it was not in force and would not be enforced.
ENFORCEMENT OF LAW (OCCASIONAL POWERS) (CONTINUANCE) BILL, 1925.—SECOND STAGE.
Question proposed—"That the Bill be read a Second Time"—put.
I referred to the Public Safety Act, not to this Bill. This Act which I now ask to have continued for a year deals with the execution of court judgments, or of decrees, and with them only. Perhaps I ought to say something in justification of the proposal to continue the Act until March of next year. The position in the country with regard to the execution of decrees is improving steadily, not very rapidly. There is a gradual improvement from quarter to quarter. The number of decrees executed in March in the country was 2,426. In April it was 2,451. The decrees in hands at the end of March number 5,712, representing a money value of £107,790, and the decrees in hands at the end of April were 5,645, representing a money value of £102,085. From month to month and quarter to quarter for the last year or eighteen months there has been a steady improvement in the position. It was very bad about two years ago. At present, under the Temporary Enforcement of Law Act, I think in certain counties where the position is worst I have assistant under-sheriffs helping in the execution of decrees. I have one, for instance, in Donegal where the position is that there are still in the hands of the undersheriff 301 decrees representing £7,121. In Kerry 475 decrees are in the hands of the sheriff representing £9,000. In Leix there are 187 decrees representing a money value of £8,000. In Mayo there are 423 decrees valued £2,900.
I am not yet in a position to make a permanent proposal with regard to this whole phase of administration, which is, of course, unquestionably of the first importance. I would like to base permanent proposals on a normal situation. The normal situation cannot be said to have been reached yet, and probably will not be reached under the twelve months extension of the temporary Bill which I am asking. The position with regard to the execution of decrees was never satisfactory. I have spoken to solicitors through the country and they tell me the position is as good as it ever was. It was never quite satisfactory, and would need to be put on a better footing than it ever occupied in the past. I ought to warn Senators that my permanent proposals will not differ very much in character from this temporary Act, but I would like to postpone them until after the new Rules of Court have been approved and are in operation, and also until the picture with regard to unexecuted judgments through the country is somewhat nearer normal than this return, for instance, would show.
Motion put, and agreed to.