I am grateful to have this opportunity to raise in the Seanad as a matter of extreme urgency the industrial dispute affecting the courts which is having a crippling effect on court procedures, probate, Land Registry and other significant matters. I thank the Minister for Justice for coming in here to respond to this Motion on the Adjournment.
This industrial dispute is most damaging because it deprives people of their constitutional and legal right of access to justice, a cornerstone of our democratic system and fundamental to the social and economic fabric of our society. I, therefore, call upon the Minister for Justice to avail of the services of an accredited and independent source, such as the Labour Relations Commission, to act as mediator or arbitrator in this dispute so that an immediate solution can be found. It seems intolerable that the Minister for Justice and his officials should refuse to sit down with a mediator to find a solution to this industrial dispute, a dispute which has been described by Donal Benchy, President of the Incorporated Law Society, as one of the most serious in the history of this State. This strike by 270 Circuit and District Court clerks, which is now in its 13th week, is already having a serious impact on several aspects of our daily life and there will be serious long term repercussions and irreversible damage caused unless the dispute is settled immediately.
The magnitude of the detrimental effect of this dispute can be seen from the fact that all criminal jury trials outside Dublin have been suspended. Potentially guilty people charged with serious crimes are out on bail. Innocent people are being denied their rights. In most parts of the country, jurors have not been summoned for criminal trials and no list of cases has been printed. Without this calendar claimants and their legal advisers do not know when a case will be heard.
Applications for grants of probate and administration are not being processed outside of Dublin. Solicitors cannot gain access to the register of judgment mortgages and the bankruptcy register without the necessary documents being stamped. As a result it is impossible to check if the vendor of property is in a position to sell and this, of course, is holding up sales. Applications for bar extensions for special functions and annual applications for the renewal of publican and hotelier licences are all affected. Maintenance payments to spouses are under threat and some litigants may find that in the absence of documents being stamped the time limit has run out and their claims may become statute barred. In addition no new civil claims are being processed.
This dispute will also have significant long term implications. Should this dispute be settled immediately it will take several months to clear the backlog of cases which has built up and the longer this dispute continues the greater the backlog will be.
Very little separates the two contending sides. What is at issue certainly does not justify serious disruption of court work and procedures. The regrading of the administrative and clerical structure of the Circuit and District Courts is essential particularly in the light of their increased workload and higher responsibility as a consequence of the increased monetary jurisdiction from £15,000 to £30,000 in the case of the Circuit Court, and from £2,500 to £5,000 in the case of the District Court. Originally the disputing workers' trade union, the CPSU, sought regrading of 210 posts and the Department of Justice conceded 42. Now the union have reduced their demand to 79 and the Department have increased their offer to 62 posts. This means that a mere 17 posts at around 10 per week per post — a total of £170 per week gross, or £80 per week net, or a mere £4,000 or £5,000 per year — stands in the way of settlement.
The Minister for Justice, I believe, has the responsibility to ensure that an efficient and adequate court service is provided to the public. He should now have recourse to the services of an independent mediator such as the Labour Relations Commission to act as a mediator or arbitrator in this dispute. The case against the Minister has been put clearly and impartially by the President of the Incorporated Law Society, Mr. Donal Benchy. Without taking sides in this dispute, he said that the Government should be setting an example and not claiming that normal labour relations procedures do not apply to them. In the words of The Cork Examiner editorial of 5 November 1991:
It is a fundamental principle of labour relations that if an employer and a union fail to agree they should have recourse to the assistance of an accredited and independent source. This action is all the more important if the failure to call in a body like the Labour Relations Commission results in a strike which seriously damages the general interest.
In conclusion, I believe the Minister for Justice and his officials should now sit down with a mediator to find an immediate solution to this problem which is wreaking disastrous effects on many aspects of Irish life. The Civil and Public Services Union have already applied to the Irish Congress of Trade Unions for an all-out strike and unions involved are currently putting their various members to a ballot. A majority vote of the aggregate membership would have an immediate effect, the disastrous consequence of which would be the closure of our courts. I, therefore, thank the Minister for coming in here this evening and I hope it will be possible for him and his officials to have recourse to the assistance of an independent arbitrator. Senator Cosgrave is sharing my time.