Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 11 October 2016
22. Deputy Billy Kelleher asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the action which can be taken with regard to backlogs in the probate system; her attention to the fact that current applications are taking on average five months, which is too long for many families; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [29272/16]
View answerThe Probate Office is an office of the High Court and management of the courts is the responsibility of the Courts Service which is independent in exercising its functions under the Courts Service Act 1998.
However, in order to be of assistance to the Deputy, I have had enquiries made and the Courts Service has informed me that the current waiting time for Grants of Representation is 16 weeks for applications lodged by a solicitor and 24 weeks for personal applications.
Where a person elects to apply for a Grant without the assistance of a solicitor the process requires significant support from the Probate Office and is more resource intensive. The Probate Office is actively involved in preparing the necessary paperwork and in servicing queries from the applicants by way of telephone, e-mail or post. Each personal applicant is required to attend at the Probate Office in person by prior appointment to complete the application process.
All applications for Grants of Representation in deceased persons' estates are made on foot of a number of mandatory legal documents which must be furnished by the applicants and these require detailed checking by the Probate Office to ensure that the estate of the deceased person is administered correctly and in accordance with the law. All applications are assessed on the basis of the date on which they are lodged, an approach which provides fairness and equity to all applicants. Priority can only be given to probate applications where it is considered that extenuating circumstances so warrant. In such circumstances it is open to applicants to bring the matter to the attention of the Probate Office.
The backlogs in the probate system are a cause for concern and a review of the probate system is being carried out at present. A report will issue with recommendations for the modernisation of the process before the end of 2016 to the Senior Management Team of the Courts Service and to the Courts Service Board. In the meantime, the Courts Service is assigning an additional member of staff to the Probate Office to assist in dealing with the high volume of work of the Office.
