Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 3 November 2020
1072. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for Justice if additional resources will be made available to the courts to deal with the backlogs that are building up due to deferred cases; if communication has been made on this issue between her Department and the Courts Service; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [33664/20]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Government is committed to ensuring adequate resources for the courts in order to maintain access to justice for all citizens. With this in mind, the Government endeavours to fill judicial vacancies at the earliest opportunity and to ensure our courts continue to operate as effectively and efficiently as possible.
I recently announced the highest ever budgetary allocation for the Justice sector including €158.8 for the Courts Service. This included €8 million for the new Courts Modernisation Programme along with an additional provision for COVID measures to enable court sittings take place in a socially distanced and safe environment.
The recent Government stimulus package had previously assigned €5m to the Courts Service, with €1.7m of the funds to be invested before year-end in ICT to install video technology systems to support the holding of remote courts. As of 23 October, 1278 hearings had been conducted across all jurisdictions and this will continue to grow.
My Department is in constant contact with the Courts Service. I am pleased to say that the Courts have continued to sit during the pandemic on priority matters in the areas of family law, criminal matters (especially cases involving people in custody), bail and urgent injunctions. Prior to the recent introduction of Level 5 restrictions, additional capacity was added to the courts infrastructure to facilitate the holding of numbers of courts close to pre-COVID levels.
The Courts Service has worked with the Judiciary to prioritise business and the holding of courts to address areas of concern. More detailed information with statements from the President of each court on arrangements during Level 5 restrictions is published on the courts website at: https://www.courts.ie/covid-19-response-updates.
