I beg to move:—
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32.--Go ndeontar suim ná raghaidh thar £41,313 chun slánuithe na suime is gá chun íoctha an Mhuirir a thiocfidh chun bheith iníoctha i rith na bliana dar críoch an 31adh lá de Mhárta, 1926, chun Tuarastail agus Cóstaisí Breithiún den Chúirt Dúithche (an tAcht Cúirteanna Breithiunais, 1924, Alt 74). |
32.—That a sum not exceeding £41,313 be granted to complete the sum necessary to defray the charge which will come in course of payment during the year ending on the 31st day of March, 1926, for the salaries and expenses of Justices of the District Court (The Courts of Justice Act, 1924, Sec. 74). |
The expenditure provided for under this Estimate was formerly divided between the Dublin Metropolitan Police Vote and the District Justices Vote. The coming into operation of the Courts of Justice Act last year, as a result of which the Dublin Metropolitan Police Courts were abolished and one District Court set up for the whole Saorstát, made it advisable to consolidate in one Vote all the charges arising out of the payment of the salaries and expenses of the justices of the new court. In addition, the salaries and expenses of the officers of the former Dublin Metropolitan Police Courts are now transferred to this Vote. The net increase of this Vote, as compared with last year, is £4,694.
Sub-head (A) (salaries, wages and allowances), is responsible for an increase of £1,169. The item chiefly responsible for this increase is the provision for deputy justices, which is estimated at £5,334. Previously, no provision was made for the payment of deputies who were appointed to replace justices who, through sickness or otherwise, became casualties, but the experience of the past year has shown the necessity for making provision for such contingencies. This amount of £5,334 also provides, of course, for the payment of deputies during the annual leave of the permanent justices. Where absence, whether on sick leave or annual leave, is of short duration, the gap is usually filled by a neighbouring permanent justice, but this arrangement can only hold for very limited periods, as most of the justices cannot afford to take on additional duties outside their own areas or spare the time necessary for the holding of courts in places very often remote from their fixed headquarters. Deputy justices are paid the same scales of salary and allowances as the permanent justices. The former Dublin Metropolitan Police Magistrates were paid, one at the rate of £1,200 per annum, and two at £1,000 per annum, plus a bonus in each case, and that made a total annual charge of, approximately, £4,030. The justices of the District Court for the Dublin Metropolitan area are paid salaries, one of £1,200 and two of £1,100, inclusive. This shows an annual saving of over £600.
The increase of £3,625 under sub-head B is accounted for by the decision to pay justices subsistence allowance in respect of absence from their headquarters. Hitherto all justices outside of Dublin and Cork were in receipt of a commuted travelling and subsistence allowance of £200 per annum. Experience has shown, however, that under this arrangement, while a few justices were amply recompensed, the majority were at a considerable loss. No two areas are quite the same, either in point of view of area or travelling facilities, and in order that all the justices may be on a par as regards their expenses, it has been decided to pay them their actual travelling expenses and subsistence allowance in accordance with certain fixed conditions, the details of which have not yet been finally determined. Payment of subsistence allowance is made to judges of the Circuit Court, and this, in itself, constitutes a strong argument for the extension of the concession to the justices of the District Court. This arrangement also involves an increase in the provision for the expenses of deputy justices.
With regard to sub-head C—Transfer Expenses, £400—this sum is intended to cover the expenses which may be incurred by justices who have to remove their households from one part of the country to another as the result of a transfer. Sub-head D— Incidental Expenses, £200—this is intended to meet the cost of telegrams, newspaper advertising, and unforeseen contingencies.
The sum of £400, provided under sub-head A, for "Probation Officer" may possibly attract some attention. The duties of probation officers are set forth in the rules made under Section 7 of the Probation of Offenders Act, 1907. The duties are also laid down in Section 4 of the Act as follows:—
(a) to visit or receive reports from the person under supervision at such reasonable intervals as may be specified in the Probation Order, or subject thereto, as the Probation Officer may think fit;
(b) to see that he observes the conditions of his recognizance;
(c) to report to the Court as to his behaviour;
(d) to advise, assist, and befriend him, and, when necessary, to endeavour to find him suitable employment.
I think there is nothing further that I want to add.
