Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 29 March 2022
141. Deputy Sorca Clarke asked the Minister for Justice if she will review the practice of not paying travel expenses for those called for jury duty considering the current cost of fuel and the lack of public transport options particularly in rural Ireland where a prospective juror can have 140 km or more round trip to the court. [16237/22]
View answerImproving access to justice and modernisation of the courts system, including jury reform, is one of the overarching strategic goals of my Department over the next three years, and is a priority objective of my Justice Plan 2022, which I published last week.
The Courts Service has already embarked on multi-year programme of modernisation to enhance the delivery of services to the people of Ireland. As part of its aims for the programme, the Courts Service is committed to simplifying services and processes.
This will build on a number of important reforms introduced over the last decade, including the following changes to jury service:
- removal of the upper age limit for eligibility to serve on a jury;
- provision for the appointment of up to three additional jurors to ensure continuity in lengthy criminal trials;
- the modernisation and centralisation by the Courts Service of the handling of all jury summonses from across the country, allowing greater efficiency in managing jury lists - previously this was carried out by each Circuit Court office; and
- the recent enactment of the Criminal Procedure Act 2021 which provides for pre-trial hearings, reducing the scope for lengthy legal argument during the course of trials, making court procedures faster and more efficient, thus improving the experience for jurors.
It should also be noted that during 2020 further consideration was given to jury reforms while assessing the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on criminal trials. In this context, the Deputy will be aware that my Department brought forward the Civil Law and Criminal Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2020 and the previously mentioned Criminal Procedure Act 2021.
Jury service exists to protect an individual's rights and to involve the public in the administration of justice. Jury service is one of the most important civic duties that a person can be asked to perform. While there are no expenses paid to jurors who are called for jury duty, lunch and refreshments are provided for those who ultimately serve on a jury.
Information for potential jurors on jury duty is posted with jury summonses and can also be found on the Courts Service website. This information includes an outline of the position regarding expenses and explains that employers must continue to pay an employee while engaged on jury duty. Self-employed persons can seek to be excused by the County Registrar.
If expenses were to be paid, a budget would need to put in place to cover those costs and no such budget is currently in place. In addition, provision would need to be made for administrative costs, including drafting guidelines or regulations covering the claiming and checking of such expenses, establishing a means of reimbursement, together with a system to issue the payments and staff to run, administer and govern the scheme.
I would intend that, in due course, the overall operation of the jury system will be reviewed in the context of my Department’s Statement of Strategy and my Justice Plan 2022, and any necessary reforms will be addressed in primary legislation, including, as appropriate, the specific points raised by the Deputy.
