I move amendment No. 50:
In page 12, line 28, after "shall" to insert "as far as is reasonably practicable."
Section 22 of the Bill would raise difficulties for the sitting of the family Circuit Court outside Dublin. What would seem to be required by section 22 is that either two judges should be sitting together in a town, thus requiring a separate venue or that if there was only one judge he or she should allocate a separate day or days for family law business exclusively. The concept that there should, as far as reasonably practicable, be a distinct separation in hearings between ordinary and family law court business has always been accepted. In Dublin, this has been achieved by having exclusive family law sittings in a purpose-built Circuit Court courtroom on each working day. Outside Dublin the normal practice is for the presiding judge to fix a separate convenient time for family law cases. However, to make that requirement mandatory and to introduce in the alternative a range of requirements for separate venues and separate days for such sittings could create real, practical difficulties. The difficulties have to do with two things, accommodation and judicial resources.
Outside Dublin, the provision of accommodation is the responsibility of local authorities who are required by law to provide and maintain courthouses. The Circuit Court sits at some 60 venues throughout the country. It would simply be unrealistic to expect that local authorities would be in a position to provide separate Circuit Court venues to comply with the provision in the Bill. There is no possibility in present circumstances of the necessary finances being provided, especially from central funds, to compensate local authorities. Even if additional venues were provided, there would be difficulties in providing the necessary judicial time for them.
The same difficulties would arise if there was a requirement that, irrespective of local conditions and the volume of business arising, family law business had to be arranged for separate days. There is a total of 18 Circuit Court judges, including the President and two temporary judges. The President has indicated that this number is no more than sufficient to cope with the current level of business as it is at present arranged. If there was a mandatory requirement on the President to provide judges to hear family law cases in venues distinct from those for ordinary business, or on separate days or at different times, there is no doubt that he would need additional judicial resources. The efficiency and cost-effectiveness of such arrangements would be highly questionable.
On Second Stage the Minister indicated that the section would have to be amended having regard to the Exchequer position, apart from anything else. In the circumstances, the section must be amended as proposed to allow flexibility in the arrangements to be made for family law business and to avoid imposing obligations which it would be impossible to meet for those substantial additional costs to public funds. Continuation of the current practice of arranging, as far as reasonably practicable, for a distinct separation in hearings of ordinary and family law business would go a long way towards meeting the requirements of the intention behind the section.