Select Committee on Legislation and Security debate -
Wednesday, 2 Oct 1996

SECTION 4.

Mrs. Owen

I move amendment No. 3:

In page 5, subsection (4), to delete lines 45 to 51 and in page 6 to delete line 1 and substitute the following:

"‘(3) A judge of the District Court exercising jurisdiction under subsection (2) shall not have jurisdiction to—

(a) conduct a preliminary examination under the provisions of the Criminal Procedure Act, 1967, or

(b) try an accused for an offence, unless that jurisdiction is exercised in the District Court District—

(i) in which the offence was committed, or

(ii) in which the accused resides or was arrested.'.".

This is a drafting amendment to make the provision easier to understand. We are trying to make our laws more easily understood for those of us who are not practising lawyers.

Amendment agreed to.

Question proposed: "That section 4, as amended, stand part of the Bill".

Dr. Woods

With regard to the District Courts, there was a change in Dublin some years ago when the courts were moved to the city centre. Is the Minister happy with this situation? How has it worked in practice? There was a time when the court was held in Sutton or Howth. All such cases now go to the city centre. Is the Minister satisfied that this is a better arrangement? Dublin has a large population and contains satellite towns. Has the Minister looked at the operation of the present arrangement? For example, in terms of Garda manpower, gardaí must travel from their local areas to the city centre.

The Minister is endeavouring to reduce the time spent by gardaí at court, which leaves more time for them to spend with their communities. This is to be welcomed. Is the present arrangement for District Court sittings the best for Dublin? Has the Minister considered any other localisation process for the future? In most Departments it has been found important to have regional services. In Dublin this has meant providing services outside the city centre in addition to the city centre. What investigations have been undertaken on this and what are the Minister's views?

Chairman

I am not sure if this is relevant to the section.

Dr. Woods

I can raise the matter later.

Mrs. Owen

We are talking about the legal jurisdiction of the courts, not the geographical location of courthouses. I do not have a list of the geographical locations of District Courthouses because I did not anticipate such a debate. There are still a number of District Courts in the communities. For example, we are currently building a courthouse in Tallaght and there are courthouses in Swords and Balbriggan in my constituency. The jurisdiction and use of the District Courts is a vital part of the system. The working group on the courts under Mrs. Justice Susan Denham is looking at the courts system to see how best it can be modified and made more user friendly. There will be other opportunities to debate the location of courts. We are dealing with the jurisdiction of the District Court in general rather than whether courts are in Howth, Sutton or Balbriggan. I do not have that information with me. However, I will send the Deputy a list which might help him.

Dr. Woods

I am more concerned about how the system is working. This Bill is intended to make the system more efficient.

Mrs. Owen

Changes were not made to any of the District Courts under my ministry. A group was set up to look at Circuit Court locations and I am still examining its recommendations to close Circuit Courts, etc.

Chairman

I would prefer if Members did not get into that area. I could produce a list of courts in my constituency which need fairly extensive renovations. I see Deputy Timmons smiling so he must be thinking of the various courts in Wicklow which also need some modification.

Dr. Woods

I accept the Minister does not have the information with her. I do not want to know about repairs, etc. We are talking about a court's jurisdiction. There are 130,000 people in my area and we do not have a court. People must travel to court and this involves cost, time, etc. I accept the Minister's statement that this situation is being examined in a broader context and that she may have more information at a later date.

Question put and agreed to.