Jurisdiction in Wards of Court matters is vested in the High Court. The Courts are, subject only to the Constitution and the law, independent in the exercise of their judicial functions and, therefore, it is not open to me as Minister to comment in any way. Section 4(3) of the Courts Service Act 1998 provides that the Courts Service is independent in the performance of its functions, which are specified in section 5 and includes the management of the Courts. Court funds which are held for the benefit of Wards of Court are private funds under the control of the Courts Service which, through its offices in the High, Circuit and District Courts, has responsibility for the management and investment of funds in court.
However, in order to be of assistance to the Deputy, I have had enquiries made and the Courts Service has informed me that court funds, which amounted to approximately €1.188 billion at 30 September 2012 are managed in a fiduciary capacity by the Courts Service on behalf of more than 18,000 beneficiaries. Approximately 2,500 of these are wards of court with funds in the amount of €800 million in value. Other beneficiaries include minors and various categories of litigant. The Deputy will appreciate the amount of damages awarded or approved by the courts in any case of a ward of court, cannot be guaranteed to meet the needs of the ward for their lifetime. Many factors will determine the extent to which the sum awarded will be sufficient, including expenditure incurred, inflation and investment performance. The Courts Service is not responsible for ensuring that the amount awarded in any case is sufficient to maintain an individual for their lifetime.
The Courts Service has assured me that it operates a conservative investment policy and seeks to invest all funds in the best interests of each beneficiary. The funds are invested in line with the provisions of the Trustee (Authorised Investments) Act, 1958 and subsequent orders and are regulated by the Financial Regulator. I am informed that the beneficiaries benefit from the investor protection structure inherent in such funds. The investment arrangements for all court funds operate under a structured framework. The Investment Committee of the Courts Service has an advisory role and its main function is to devise investment policy for court funds, oversee the recommendations received from its investment advisors, and to ensure compliance with best practice in the management of court funds. It monitors the investment arrangements of court funds on a regular basis. The Committee comprises members of the judiciary, representatives from the Courts Service and independent members. The Committee is chaired by the President of the High Court and is also supported by external investment advisors. The Courts Service also produces annual financial statements and is subject to both internal and external audit. The audited financial statements are published each year and forwarded to me and to the Minister for Finance in accordance with the Superior Court Rules and published on the Courts Service website at www.courts.ie. The investment performance since the current investment strategies were established in December 2003 are set out in the following table which shows both the cumulative investment performance of the funds (net of fees) and the performance for the year to 30 September 2012.
|
Portfolio Return
(Net of Fees)
|
Cash
|
Cash Plus
|
Bond Plus
|
Balanced
|
Growth
|
|
Cumulative performance since inception to 30/09/2012
|
11.40 %
|
19.66%
|
34.04%
|
44.58%
|
37.60%*
|
|
12 months to 30/09/2012
|
0.29%
|
0.29%
|
0.30%
|
9.62%
|
N/A*
|
Note: Cash Fund commenced 21 June 2006
Note: Following a review of the composition asset mix of all strategies, the Growth Fund was allocated the identical asset mix as the Balanced Fund. It was therefore deemed appropriate to move all the beneficiaries in the Growth Fund to the Balanced Fund in order to ascertain a lower management fee scale structure. This transition was completed on 7 September 2011.
Finally, work is ongoing in my Department on the Mental Capacity Bill which proposes replacement of the Wards of Courts system with a modern statutory framework to support persons with impaired decision-making ability. The enactment of new legislation is one of the core elements of the remaining work to be completed to enable ratification of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. The matters raised by the Deputy are being considered in the context of the Bill.
