Departmental Reports

Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 1 June 2021

Tuesday, 1 June 2021

Questions (522)

Pa Daly

Question:

522. Deputy Pa Daly asked the Minister for Justice the party that will bear the costs for the barrister training recommended by the O'Malley report. [29527/21]

Written answers

Minister of State at the Department of Justice

I would like to thank the Deputy for raising this matter as the full implementation of the recommendations of the O'Malley Review has been a priority for Minister McEntee and that will continue during my time as Minister of State in the Department of Justice.

Following publication of 'Supporting a Victim’s Journey' - our plan to implement the recommendations of the O'Malley Review - the Department established three specific sub-groups to work on implementing some of these recommendations. One of these sub groups is focused on meeting the training needs of a wide range of front-line staff and professionals, including legal professionals.

Work in this subgroup in ongoing and the funding required to develop and deliver the training under the O'Malley Review recommendations will be discussed once it has been established what training is currently provided and what additional training is needed.

A representative from the Bar Council of Ireland sits on this group. As the Deputy is aware, the Council of The Bar of Ireland is the representative body for barristers who are members of the Law Library. The Bar of Ireland's existing Continuous Professional Development (CPD) programme is robust and equipped to incorporate relevant multidisciplinary training, as envisaged by the O'Malley Review. The CPD programme already incorporates training for barristers dealing with vulnerable witnesses, and several seminars and workshops have taken place over recent months and years.

The Bar of Ireland has indicated that they will develop a course of Continuing Professional Development suitable for barristers in line with the recommendations of the O'Malley Review. The seminars and lectures for this course will be delivered by people possessing relevant expertise, several of which will require expertise in specific non-legal fields.