Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 23 March 2023
321. Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív asked the Minister for Justice if he has received submissions from the Probate Office for more resources to deal with the backlog of cases awaiting approval of probate there; the steps he intends taking to make those resources available; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14382/23]
View answerAs the Deputy is aware as Minister for Justice, I have no role in the exercise of Probate functions.
The Probate Office is an office of the High Court, and management of the courts is the responsibility of the judiciary and Courts Service, which are independent in exercising their functions under the Courts Service Act 1998 and given the separation of powers in the Constitution. Probate functions are also carried out by County Registrars at District Probate Registries in 14 provincial court offices. The Courts Service has a dedicated email address for the provision of information to members of the Houses of the Oireachtas at: oireachtasenquiries@courts.ie .
However, I would like to draw the Deputy’s attention to the fact that the Courts Service have embarked on a 10-year programme of modernisation of the Courts system. A proposal to roll out an eProbate project has been identified as part of the civil law modernisation workstream.
I have secured an additional funding allocation for the Courts Service to facilitate the commencement of an eProbate project this year. The introduction of this improved system should lead to a faster and more efficient process.
