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Legal Services Regulation

Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 6 July 2021

Tuesday, 6 July 2021

Questions (441)

Catherine Connolly

Question:

441. Deputy Catherine Connolly asked the Minister for Justice her plans to implement a scheme such that lay litigants involved in court cases may recover their costs in circumstances in which their cases are successful, as is possible in the United Kingdom in view of the increasing prevalence of lay litigation in Irish courts; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [36039/21]

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Written answers

Facilitating greater access to justice is one of the key objectives of my Department’s Statement of Strategy 2021-2023 and the Justice Plan 2021.

To achieve this, we must streamline both the civil and family justice system; ensure that cases can be managed to give the parties more certainty about the progress and likely costs of their cases; ensure that more disputes are resolved earlier without resorting to court-based litigation; that legal costs to take actions are reduced; and we must ensure that people of modest means can access civil legal aid when needed. As the Deputy will appreciate, this will involve a range of measures and initiatives to improve how our courts, and the sector that supports it, operate.

Regarding costs, the general rule, now provided for in statute in the Legal Services Regulation Act 2015, is that costs, as defined in that Act, are awarded to a successful litigant unless the court directs otherwise for reasons specified in that legislation.

Last year, Minister McEntee published the Report of the Review Group set up to review and make recommendations to reform the administration of civil justice. The Review Group, chaired by Mr. Justice Peter Kelly, made 95 specific recommendations to make the civil justice system more efficient and easier for people to access.

Regarding lay litigants, the Review Group recommended that the practice direction regarding lay litigants be implemented by the High Court Central Office. A practice direction was introduced in the High Court in July 2010 governing proceedings in which one or more of the parties does not have professional legal representation requiring that the litigant in person and the other party complete, file and (where applicable) serve a form in advance of (a) making a pre-trial application and (b) the trial of the proceedings, to assist in identifying the factual and legal issues requiring to be addressed at the hearing.

My Department is in the final stages of developing a multi-year implementation plan which will set out changes to be made in all areas of civil justice, including litigation costs, case delays, and access to services and legal aid. Once completed, the implementation plan will be brought to Government and published. The extensive reforms proposed by the Review Group will transform the experience of those seeking to access civil justice in Ireland.

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