Vol. 1033 No. 5
1. Deputy Martin Kenny asked the Minister for Justice if he is aware of the staggering waiting times facing victims of crime and victims of domestic violence in the Courts Service, with some waiting as long as 36 months for a hearing; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7529/23]
The Minister is aware of the staggering waiting times in many of our courts for people who are victims of domestic and sexual violence. We spoke about it at a committee meeting yesterday, as it happens. I would like a commitment from him this morning setting out what concrete action will be taken to change this. I got back a list of court sittings. In Trim, people are waiting 16 weeks in some cases. In Tullamore, it is 14 weeks. In other places, cases are heard at the next sitting. This hit-and-miss scenario in different areas of the country must be addressed and the only way it can be is by the appointment of additional judges.
I thank Deputy Kenny for this question. We had a chance to begin to explore this issue at a committee meeting and I am grateful we have a chance to discuss it further.
As the Deputy will be aware, the Judiciary is independent in the exercise of its functions. Since the Covid restrictions have been lifted, the courts have resumed working at full capacity. The Courts Service works closely with the Judiciary to prioritise urgent work and address backlogs that have been exacerbated by the pandemic.
I am acutely aware of the impact of delays in proceedings on vulnerable victims but it is very important for people to know applications for urgent interim domestic violence orders are prioritised by the courts. I am certain we all want that message to go out from the House today. I want anybody who is in danger today or who is worried to know that. I should also clarify that the Courts Service has assured me urgent domestic violence interim applications are a priority and are dealt with immediately, that is, either on the same day or on the next sitting day in every district. The interim order is in place until a full court hearing can take place. Even during the pandemic, courts were opened and remained open to hear these applications.
I am informed that waiting times for other domestic violence applications vary across districts but the majority, as the Deputy said, hear these applications at the next sitting. For the reasons the Deputy has outlined, I have asked the Courts Service for a report on the disparity in waiting times between districts for family law domestic violence applications. I am very conscious of the courts' independence but I am conscious also of the point Deputy Kenny makes, namely, a majority of the courts are hearing applications at the next sitting. I want to get a real understanding of the disparity across the District Courts.
While the introduction of preliminary trial hearings in 2022 represents a significant reform intended to speed up criminal trials, I understand the average waiting time for trial in serious sexual assault cases, which are heard in the Central Criminal Court, is currently 14 months. Sexual offences are also tried in the Circuit Criminal Court and data received from the Courts Service indicate 75% of cases over the last six months were scheduled for hearing in under 24 months. The average wait for the family law list is three months.
I thank the Minister and look forward to that report from the Courts Service. We are all aware that people across Ireland are becoming more conscious of the scourge of domestic and gender-based violence, intimate partner violence, harassment and coercive control. As a society we are getting better at identifying people in that situation and encouraging them to seek support and come forward. More and more of them are and it is appropriate to pay tribute to the many organisations like Women's Aid, Men's Aid and the rape crisis centres. They all do magnificent work to assist people in trying to move forward with that.
The difficulty we experience is that when these cases reach the courts system people often find it arduous and difficult. In some cases, the wait can be as long as three years. Some of that is down to delays with the Director of Public Prosecutions and other issues but the general difficulty is that the courts system is under huge stress because of the long delays. Some of it may be due to disorganisation and areas that could be tightened up. The Courts Service could do a better job in some areas and that needs to be examined. However, the primary reason is that we do not have enough judges in place to be able to deal with the cases. The Minister has a report. He mentioned yesterday that the conclusions are due to be brought forward. I hope that happens quickly.
I join the Deputy in commending the organisations he mentioned. I had the pleasure of meeting almost all of them when we had them in the Department to discuss how we will develop the new domestic, sexual and gender-based violence agency. The Deputy supports the agency and we intend to legislate for it shortly. I hope to bring the draft legislation to Cabinet within a month and have it up and running by next January. I cannot stress enough that interim orders are dealt with immediately. I await with interest the report from the Courts Service and the broader issue the Deputy raises. I look forward to receiving it so I can gain a full understanding of the issues.
Two issues arise as regards some of these matters. One relates to family law. As the Deputy knows, we have secured approval for the Family Courts Bill 2022. The Bill is on Second Stage in the Seanad. It will result in a radical overhaul of the family courts system, which will help to improve matters for vulnerable families in many ways.
The Deputy is also right on judicial numbers. I have received the report of the judicial planning working group and I do not intend to sit on it. I hope to bring it to Government in the coming weeks and to publish it very shortly thereafter.
Gabhaim buíochas leis an Aire. I appreciate the work going on in respect of all that. Bringing forward legislation, setting up new agencies and focusing on all this is worthy and worthwhile but the key issue is ensuring we have the resources to deal with what is basically a pandemic across our society. According to report from the Central Statistics Office yesterday, four out of five victims of sexual abuse know the perpetrator. Half of those are children and the violence often occurs within families. Where victims of child abuse report the crime as an adult, it will have traumatised them throughout their lives. It is very important, therefore, that they are dealt with efficiently and effectively and that the system works with them. The Courts Service is part of that but so too are all the other services the Minister mentioned. We must have adequate therapeutic services in place to assist people to move forward in their lives and have a bright future. People deserve that and it is an absolute priority that the Department of Justice deals with this matter appropriately.
The Deputy and I agree on that point. This is an absolute priority for the Department. A board has been established to deliver a zero-tolerance strategy and is co-chaired by the Secretary General at the Department of Justice and the Secretary General at the Department of the Taoiseach.
The Deputy is correct, though, about there being so much we need to do in this area. I had an incredible meeting with a superb individual, Jason Poole, yesterday concerning the horrific scenario his family has endured because of the loss of his beautiful sister Jennifer and his wish for a domestic violence register to assist in Ireland. There is much we need to do in this area. Some of it requires legislation and some of it requires resources, but we must do both and we are doing so.
Turning to the issue of the judicial planning working group, I cannot go into too much detail because I must go to Government first on it, but I do have the final report. It does highlight the importance of developing a structured system for planning and deploying judicial resources. Both the judicial planning working group and the OECD have highlighted the need for a substantial programme of change initiatives, without which the demand for additional judges would be even higher. The Deputy can expect me to move quickly on this report, which I have just received in recent weeks.
2. Deputy Gino Kenny asked the Minister for Justice if he will indicate his support for a public inquiry into the death of a person (details supplied) who was killed in a hit-and-run by a driver while cycling near his home in Carrickmacross on 2 August 2011; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8015/23]
Will the Minister indicate his support for a public inquiry in relation to the death of Shane O'Farrell, which happened in August 2011? He was killed in a hit-and-run incident. Many of us would argue that death was completely unlawful and it could have been prevented. I would like to hear the Minister's opinion concerning the call from Shane's family and many of his supporters for a public inquiry into his death.
I thank the Deputy for raising this important matter. I start by expressing my sympathy to the members of the O'Farrell family on their desperately sad loss. Shane was clearly a wonderful son and brother with a bright future ahead of him and I know his loss is felt acutely by all those who had the great benefit of knowing him. As the Deputy will be aware, retired District Court Judge Gerard Haughton was appointed by the then Minister for Justice, Deputy Charles Flanagan, in 2019 to carry out a scoping exercise in light of the public controversy and concern surrounding the circumstances of Shane's tragic death. The purpose of the scoping exercise was to advise whether any further investigation or inquiry beyond those already carried out was necessary and, if so, to advise on the form of such investigation or inquiry and its terms of reference.
Judge Haughton submitted his final report to the Minister, Deputy McEntee. Since receipt of the final report, the advice of the Attorney General was sought and has been received in relation to the issue of publication of that report and other matters arising. The Minister, Deputy McEntee, wrote to each Department and agency responsible for issues giving rise to recommendations in the report and in July last year the O’Farrell family was provided with a copy of the report on a strictly confidential basis. I understand that the Minister, Deputy McEntee, together with the then Taoiseach, Deputy Micheál Martin, met with members of the O’Farrell family late last year regarding the report, both in terms of its content and issues regarding the publication of the report.
Obviously, I have taken up office in recent weeks. I am currently considering this important report myself and I intend to decide shortly on how best to proceed. I will, of course, then convey that decision to the O'Farrell family and seek Government approval or noting of the way in which I intend to proceed.
I thank the Minister. Many of us have spoken about Shane O'Farrell, who was killed 12 years ago. He should be alive today, if it was not for the systemic failure of our judicial system regarding what happened on that day. Shane and his family continue to be failed concerning that fatal day. The injustice lingers. Not only does grief linger but also injustice in the context of that family calling for a public inquiry into Shane's death. The more I look back over and observe the last few years in respect of how the report from Judge Haughton has been dealt with, nothing but a public inquiry will do in respect of Shane's death.
I thank Deputy Gino Kenny and I again reiterate my absolute sympathy and condolences to the O'Farrell family and all those who knew Shane. The report is a substantial document and my colleague, the Minister, Deputy McEntee, rightfully carefully considered its contents and, indeed, legal advice that was sought and received on foot of the report. Once I have concluded my consideration of the report and the associated legal advice, it is my intention to bring the report to Cabinet at that stage and I do expect to be in a position to do so shortly. As I said, the decision was rightly taken to provide the O'Farrell family with a copy of the report on 27 July 2022. It was appropriate and important that the then Taoiseach, Deputy Micheál Martin, and the then Minister for Justice met with the family late last year to discuss the contents of the report. Until such time as the report has been brought to Cabinet and published, I am obviously not in a position to discuss its contents. I remind colleagues, however, that one of the terms of reference was to advise on whether any inquiry is necessary into the systems and procedures etc. and the form of any such investigation or inquiry. It is important, therefore, that Members are given an opportunity to consider this report in full when it is published.
When will that report be brought to Cabinet? That is very important. Equally, how will it proceed after that? In 2019, both Houses passed a motion calling for a public inquiry. Before I came in, I looked at the definition of a "public inquiry". There are four main points of a public inquiry: to establish the facts, to learn lessons, to restore public confidence and to determine accountability. Surely all these elements are relevant regarding the failures concerning what happened to Shane O'Farrell on that day. I appeal to the Minister and the Government to establish a public inquiry into the death of Shane O'Farrell. I do not think anything else could suffice concerning the situation the members of his family find themselves in. I have not seen the report, but nothing else will suffice now other than a public inquiry into Shane's death.
I fully accept the Deputy's absolute sincerity on this issue. As the Deputy quite rightly said, the report has not been seen yet because it has not been published. He is asking me a direct question as to when it will be published. I am conscious of the substantial nature of the report and that there was a meeting between the family, the then Taoiseach, Deputy Micheál Martin, and the then Minister, Deputy McEntee. I am also conscious there was legal advice in respect of publication. I am considering all that and I intend to go to the Cabinet very shortly in relation to this matter.
We must remind ourselves and this House that the Government's decision to establish this scoping exercise by retired Judge Haughton was a direct response to the Oireachtas's request for further examination to be given to this issue. The final revised terms of reference for Judge Haughton's scoping exercise settled in July 2019 and the judge's remit was to advise the Minister for Justice on whether there were any circumstances surrounding the death of Mr. O'Farrell which warranted further investigation or inquiry beyond those already carried out, whether any inquiry was necessary into the systems and procedures for the sharing of information between An Garda Síochána, the Courts Service and other relevant State bodies operating at the time of Shane O'Farrell's death, the form of any such investigation or inquiry, its terms of reference and the suggested composition of the investigation or inquiry. The next step now is for me to finalise my consideration of the report and to advise the Cabinet on the matter.
3. Deputy Martin Kenny asked the Minister for Justice the steps his Department is taking in relation to the current Garda retention crisis; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7530/23]
Before I go to the question, I welcome Ellie Fay from Finglas, who is a student, to the Public Gallery. Many of our Oireachtas members bring students in here from time to time and it is always a very worthy and worthwhile thing to do. The future is bright when we have bright, dedicated and focused young people in our community.
Back to business. What steps does the Minister intend to take to deal with the current retention crisis in An Garda Síochána? It has become a continuous problem in recent years but particularly acute recently. Many members of the force are staying for a short time and then moving on and going off to other employment. This is causing a great crisis because we also have the crisis in recruitment and coupled together the two issues are causing serious problems.
I join with the Deputy in welcoming his guest, Ellie, to the Public Gallery.
I assure the Deputy that the Government is committed to building stronger, safer communities across Ireland and key to that is ensuring that An Garda Síochána has the resources it needs. This is reflected in what has been a significant allocation of over €2.14 billion under budget 2023. There are currently just over 14,000 sworn members of An Garda Síochána and a little over 100 gardaí, 109 to be precise, resigned last year. While there has been a very slight increase in this figure in recent years, the rate of resignations represents 0.7% of Garda members and needs to be viewed in that context. We are talking about a figure of less than 1% in terms of resignations from an organisation in a year.
The Deputy may be interested to know some information I think may be important for context at a time when we are encouraging people to join An Garda Síochána and we all want to see more gardaí on the beat and in our specialist units.
It is important to note that the 2022 Garda Síochána culture audit, which was conducted independently of the Garda by the University of Durham, found that job satisfaction is high among gardaí, that they are motivated to serve their communities and that they have pride in the organisation. The significant levels of interest shown in every recruitment campaign is testament to the enduring appeal of a career in An Garda Síochána, notwithstanding the hugely challenging job gardaí do. Huge levels of public support for the Garda were demonstrated in communities up and down the country throughout last year’s centenary celebrations. Again and again since my appointment as Minister, members of the public have attested to their very positive engagement with gardaí, often at times of great personal difficulty. Having said that, we all recognise that policing is difficult, challenging and sometimes very risky work. The Commissioner is also deeply conscious of the daily risks and injuries to his colleagues. A total of 89 gardaí have made the ultimate sacrifice and many more have suffered significant life-altering injuries in the course of their duties. We are immensely grateful to our gardaí for their outstanding dedication and commitment to serving the public and for the vital role they play in keeping people safe.
As the Deputy will appreciate, people may choose to leave an organisation or change careers for a variety of reasons. I believe the relatively low number of resignations from An Garda Síochána must also be seen in the context of the overall state of our economy, with full employment, a highly competitive jobs market and the changing perception of a job for life.
We are all conscious of that and we all want to pay tribute to the work members of An Garda Síochána do on a daily basis. A lot of this is down to that stress. I spoke to members of the service who told me that sometimes a call comes when there is an incident somewhere and they know there is going to be if not danger then certainly stress involved in that incident. They know they need at least four or maybe five people to attend but there are only two of them. When the two attend that incident they are often attacked, abused or insulted. They feel vulnerable. It has an immense impact on the morale of the service when engaging and dealing with situations like that. It is very similar to the situation in the Minister's former role as Minister for Health. Nurses in our hospitals all tell us that when there are supposed to be four nurses on a ward and there are only one or two, it puts stress on them that they are not able to cope with. It is a similar situation with the Garda. The average across Ireland at the moment is about 270 gardaí per 100,000 of population. Across the European Union, that should be 330 per 100,000. We have a job to do in order to get that up to the standard it needs to be at.
The best way we can keep our gardaí safe is to pass laws in this House that help ensure they have the legal powers to keep them safe. When they take criminals off the street there should be adequate sentencing in place and we should give them the technology and resources they require. Front-line gardaí are asking us to provide them with body cameras to keep them safe. They have been asking for a long time and we need to get on and heed their request. I know the Deputy and I agree on this matter.
To be very clear, the other best way to help keep our gardaí safe, and keep them in the force, is by giving them more colleagues and increasing Garda numbers. Our aim and the aim of the Garda Commissioner are unified with regard to having at least 15,000 gardaí and at least 4,000 Garda staff, or a total workforce of 19,000 people. That is where we want to get to. We will help get there by freeing up people from back office duties into front-line policing because of civilianisation. Since 2015, over 880 Garda members have been freed up from back office desk jobs and have gone back into front-line policing. I again refer to the Garda culture audit from 2022 because that is direct feedback from front-line gardaí on how they view their jobs and the organisation.
I appreciate that. I understand that many gardaí get great job satisfaction from what they do and work very hard in respect of that. I always wonder about having more civilian staff that are going to free up gardaí for front-line duties. The experience in communities does not show that. That is the problem here. There was a similar story when Garda stations were closed. Many Garda stations were closed across the country and here in the city of Dublin. We were told that would free up gardaí to be out in the community so there would be more community gardaí on the street meeting people and doing their jobs out there. That did not happen. It was the reverse that happened. When we say we are going to do something because it will have a particular outcome and that outcome does not happen, there must be a reassessment of why that is the case and what can be done to change that.
The experience of the public is that they are not getting the service they require. We had the 999 scandal and all these things, which reflect a difficulty that people depend on members of the Garda, as a service, to keep them safe but when they contact that service, they do not get the response they require because the service is not up to standard. That is no reflection of the hardworking people within that service; it is a reflection of the resources that have been put in place for them.
The Deputy is right. We should always follow data and check that we get what we want. To take a point in time, since 2015 over 880 Garda members who were doing back office duties - I am not suggesting that is unimportant but they were not able to do front-line duties - have been freed up to do front-line duties. That is 880 more gardaí. Taking the global picture from 2015 to now, there are 12% more gardaí, or an increase of 12%-----
Not per capita. It is lower per capita.
There are more gardaí now than there were in 2015. We went through a global pandemic in that time which saw our Garda college close on a number of occasions.
This year 150 gardaí-----
Deputy, please.
I will get to Deputy Tóibín's question in a moment. I have to deal with one Deputy at a time here. Interest in joining the Garda is high and strong. We see that every time we run a Garda recruitment campaign. We will get 1,000 new gardaí into Templemore this year, which will be the largest intake in a long time. We will get to over 15,000 gardaí in the country. That is the shared view of myself, the Commissioner and the Government. I will listen very carefully to front-line gardaí and representative bodies on this. I will be meeting this month with both the Association of Garda Sergeants and Inspectors, AGSI, and the Garda Representative Association, GRA.
Will the Minister consider looking at the training allowance?
We will work with the AGSI and the GRA to give them the tools and resources and to hear their concerns.
4. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Justice if his attention has been drawn to the rise in attendance at sexual assault treatment units. [8031/23]
Shockingly, more than 1,000 people, the vast majority of whom are women, attended a sexual assault treatment unit last year. This is the first time the figure has ever surpassed 1,000. The number of people who attended those assault units jumped by 20%, 200 people more than last year. The truth of the matter is that this is only the tip of the iceberg of what is happening. Typically, international studies have shown that those who present to these types of units are only the tip of the iceberg. A fifth of those who presented were children. What are we doing to lower the number of sexual assaults happening in Ireland?
I thank the Deputy for his question. As can be seen from the zero tolerance strategy published by the then Minister for Justice, Deputy Helen McEntee, last summer, the Government is committed to tackling sexual violence in all its forms. The Government’s plan recognises the importance of strong legislation, reporting, supports for victims and a co-ordinated approach in our work with victims, and it outlines the actions we will take in each of these areas. Sexual assault treatment units carry out important work under the remit of the HSE and the Department of Health and I very much appreciate and support their 24-7 work all around the country in Dublin, Galway, Cork, Waterford, Mullingar and Donegal. A sexual assault treatment centre is a safe place to go and can provide health checks and medication, and can carry out an exam to get evidence following a sexual assault or rape.
Historically, the criminal justice system has not treated victims of sexual violence in a way that instilled confidence in it but we are working to change that so more victims will feel empowered to report what has happened to them. The significant rise in the numbers attending the units mirrors the increased reporting across the criminal justice system. My Department is continuing to reform the system to make it more victim-centred and evidence-informed, to strengthen relevant legislative provisions and ensure gardaí are properly resourced. While I am determined to strengthen our legislation in this area, I know this is only one element of what is needed. Building the confidence of victims of sexual crimes so they will report what has happened and get the justice they deserve is also key.
I am also very aware of the importance of comprehensive and robust data in this area. That is why my Department commissioned the CSO to undertake a national survey of the prevalence of sexual violence, the results of which are expected next month. This will provide an important baseline for evaluating the vital work across all of government under our zero tolerance strategy. While we might all wish that crimes of this type never take place, it is a positive that people are reaching out for help and we will continue working across the whole of government to encourage more victims to come forward. When people experience assault, they should feel safe and confident to come forward and get help. That is the cornerstone of the actions set out in Supporting a Victim’s Journey, a number of which have already been implemented, including increasing funding for NGOs providing accompaniment, information and support services, the complete roll-out of divisional protective services units and the introduction of a specialised sexual offences unit in the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions.
Only about 60% of the people who presented at these units actually reported these crimes to the Garda. That figure actually fell last year. There is no evidence that there is an increase in the number of people who are reporting these crimes as a proportion of the number of crimes happening. Ireland is becoming a more violent country in terms of sexual crime, significantly over the last ten years. In 2011, there were 1,958 sexual offences recorded. In 2021, the figure increased by 75% to 3,433 sexual offences.
In 2011, there were 447 rapes recorded. In 2021, it had doubled to 983. It is getting far worse. A number of factors are contributing to this. I suggest that one of those is the massive level of consumption of hardcore pornography by young children in this country. The Government has done nothing to stop that.
In terms of data, the reason we have commissioned the Central Statistics Office, CSO, to undertake a national survey is to establish the prevalence of sexual violence. The results are expected next month. The intention is to establish whether there is an increase in events of sexual violence or an increase in the number of people reporting what is happening. We must create a situation where people feel confident and safe coming forward. That is the cornerstone of our strategy to help people come forward. Combating all forms of sexual and gender-based violence is a priority. The Government has introduced legislation, funding and policy to help to support people to come forward and to feel safe in doing so.
Children at Risk Ireland, CARI, is a specialist professional organisation that deals with children who have been sexually abused. It found that in the past two years there has been a 44% increase in the number of cases of sexual abuse perpetrated on children by children. There is a massive problem with the consumption of hardcore pornography among children. I spoke to a parent at Christmas who looked at a screen a child was using. There were two searches: one was for Santa Claus and the other was for explicit, hardcore pornography. That is happening right across the country at very young ages at the moment. We have seen cases such as that of Anna Kriégel where, shockingly, there was a dark history of children consuming very explicit material. It is distorting young children's understanding of what is healthy in relationships. In France, they are now banning children consuming this material. They are saying that if people want to consume this material, they must prove their age. I have produced a Bill that does exactly the same here: it puts pressure on the Internet service providers to make sure that they know the age of the people consuming this material so that children do not consume it. We can stop this, and that could help in trying to resolve this very serious issue.
The Government is very much aware of the serious situation regarding young people and what they can access online. There is a cross-government approach to addressing this very serious situation. Work is being led by the new domestic, sexual and gender-based violence agency, which is also working with the Department of Education and the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth. It will build on successes of previous awareness raising campaigns as well. We cannot be naive either. Simply introducing a ban will stop access to the legal sites, but anybody who uses the Internet knows very well how to work around it.
We are talking about ten-year old and 12-year old children.
Deputy Tóibín should please not interrupt.
That is how the Internet works. Deputy Tóibín is being a little bit naive to say that if we simply ban something that it will prevent it happening.
Okay, let us just sit on our hands.
That is not what we are saying. We are doing a significant amount of work in this area. We have put a lot of bodies in place and we are addressing this very serious situation. We must address all of the areas and not take a simplistic approach to it either.
5. Deputy Martin Kenny asked the Minister for Justice if he can provide an update on the courts modernisation programme. [8001/23]
Could the Minister provide an update on the courts modernisation programme and what work is being done in that respect? Many court buildings around the country are not up to a sufficient standard. Some of them are, as excellent work has been done in some places. Technology is something on which we can make vast improvements, which would assist a great deal in being able to have a more effective and efficient system.
I thank Deputy Kenny for raising this important matter. An independent, impartial and efficient Judiciary and courts system is critical to our democracy. The Government will work with the Courts Service and the Judiciary to deliver a number of important commitments in the programme for Government, which will help ensure that we have a modern Courts Service. This includes enacting a Family Court Bill to create a new dedicated Family Court within the existing court structure and to provide for court procedures that support a less adversarial resolution of disputes.
We plan to establish a new planning and environmental law court managed by specialist judges. We will implement reforms to the administration of civil justice in the State, covering matters such as the more efficient and effective deployment of court and judicial resources.
My Department is committed to driving the modernisation and digital first agenda across the entire justice sector. This is reflected in the additional funding of €2.5 million provided in budget 2023 for the courts modernisation programme. This builds on significant investment in recent years.
The Courts Service modernisation programme is a ten-year programme which will deliver a new operating model for the Courts Service designed around the user, with simplified and standardised services and accessible data to inform decisions, all delivered through digital solutions. I welcome in particular the commitment set out by the Courts Service in its Corporate Strategic Plan 2021-2023, to maximise the use of digital technologies to provide an improved and user-centred service. This commitment is integral to making our justice system work better for everyone by improving systems and increasing efficiencies.
The Courts Service engages with the Judiciary, a wide range of stakeholders and court users as these improved services are developed. Significant progress has already been made in introducing digital technologies that improve access to justice and provide a better and user-centred service.
Towards the end of 2020, the Courts Service committed an investment in excess of €2.2 million to expand the number of courtrooms that are technology enabled. These courtrooms support remote and hybrid hearings and allow parties, witnesses, prisoners, or An Garda Síochána, to dial in remotely to a physical courtroom and to support digital evidence display. The project brought the number of up-to-date technology courtrooms from 55 in 2020 to 118 at the end of 2022.
I am aware that much work has been done in many areas around the country to modernise the Courts Service and to bring courtrooms up to the required standard. We understand that it is a ten-year plan. However, some work could be done much faster than that to improve the situation in regard to many court buildings that do not have adequate meeting rooms, space, or facilities for barristers and solicitors to be able to deal with their clients. It is an ongoing problem, especially where victims of crime are in very close proximity to the accused or to perpetrators in many cases. Much of our discussion this morning has been on domestic and sexual violence. In those circumstances, as part of the Government's zero-tolerance strategy, there should be zero tolerance in that area as well to ensure that we have the correct space and accommodation for people so that they will not be re-traumatised when they enter the court system. The current buildings are an impediment to that and work must be done to make sure that happens.
I concur with the Deputy on the importance of having appropriate facilities. I practised family law in the old courthouse in Wexford. It was conducted in a public sphere where people were also queuing to pay their motor tax. We now have a new court in Wexford town which has dramatically changed the situation for people in difficult circumstances. We must see that right across the entire country. That is part of the national development plan. The Department of Justice is very much focused on getting all of those facilities up to speed so that people can have consultations and dealings in a private manner, as should be the case, right across the country.
The digitisation of courtrooms is also important to facilitate witnesses or expert witnesses who may be in another part of the country or even abroad to be brought into the courtroom using such technology. It happens in some cases but there is not enough of it. A mechanism must be put in place to ensure that can happen. It would speed up the process. Sometimes court cases are delayed or postponed simply because the expertise that is needed at a particular time cannot be accessed. There are solutions to all of this and they must be examined. Modernising court buildings is part of that, but another part is that we must put in place the technology in them to be able to deliver. It has been slow to happen. Great advances were made during Covid, or at least there was talk of great advances being made, but I am not sure how much of that is true. We must examine the modernisation of the system, not just to have better spaces but to have a more effective space so that people can get access to justice quicker, more effectively and efficiently and also at a more affordable cost, which is a big issue in regard to access to justice.
I agree with the Deputy not only about having the physical spaces but having modernisation through technology. That is crucial. We have seen what can be done during Covid in terms of the courts and advancing and speeding up the use of technology. We need to see more of that. The enabling of video technology in courtrooms is part of the courts modernisation programme, as well as the training piece. Courts can use the technology for expert witnesses as well perhaps to provide their evidence from a distance so that court cases are not adjourned because witnesses are unavailable.
Speaking from my own experience, I have seen the impact of court cases having to be adjourned because an important key witness was not available.
The management of court cases will always have to remain in the hands of the Judiciary. There may be times when it is simply necessary to have a witness in court on a particular day in order that he or she can be examined by the relevant parties. I agree with the Deputy that we need to get this technology rolled out quicker. That is definitely a priority for the Department.
