Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 24 March 2021
1285. Deputy Denise Mitchell asked the Minister for Justice if her attention has been drawn to issues caused by Covid-19 in relation to interviews within the Probate Office and a delay on cases due to interviews not being conducted; the steps being taken to rectify the matter; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [15776/21]
View answerThe Probate Office is an office of the High Court and management of the courts is the responsibility of the Courts Service. Under the provisions of the Courts Service Act 1998, management of the courts is the responsibility of the Courts Service which is independent in its functions. However, in order to be of assistance to the Deputy, I have had enquiries made regarding the steps being taken to address the current processing times for personal applications for probate in Dublin. The Courts Service has provided the following update on this matter.
Restrictions under Level 5 of the Resilience and Recovery 2020-2021 Plan for Living with COVID-19 has necessitated the temporary closure of the personal applications process in the Dublin Probate Office in October 2020. It had been hoped to recommence appointments with personal applicants in early January 2021, but due to the re-introduction of restrictions, this was not possible and until such time as the restrictions on movement are lifted or significantly reduced, the Courts Service advises there will be no resumption of personal application interviews.
Staff who would usually deal with personal probate applications have been reassigned to work on solicitor applications which continue to be processed.
I am further advised by the Courts Service that personal application interviews cannot be held remotely as the applicant has to be identified by production of appropriate identification and once the identity has been established the applicant has to sign the oath before a staff member. The Courts Service are of the view that remote interviews cannot facilitate this process in such a way as to ensure that the integrity of the Probate system is maintained.
Resources will be diverted to address the arrears of personal applications once interviews can recommence in a safe way, having regard to public health guidelines.
