Chief Justice, members of the Judiciary, members of the Board,
distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen; I am pleased to be here today
to accept the Courts Service Annual Report for 2012.
I would like to take this opportunity to compliment the Chief Justice and
Chairperson of the Courts Service Board, Judge Denham, and her fellow board
members as well as the Chief Executive, Brendan Ryan, and his staff on the
service which the courts continue to provide in the current difficult
circumstances.
The Government is conscious of the value of providing for an excellent
court system and has continued to provide substantial resources to the
Service with a supplementary estimate of €5 million provided last year on
top of the original net budget of €54.1 million. However, no area is
exempt from the financial constraints of the past few years and while
funding has been cut in common with every area within the Justice sector, I
am glad it has been possible to press ahead with some aspects of the
capital programme by way of Public Private Partnership. As you may be
aware, the Government Infrastructure Stimulus Package announced last year
includes the development of seven county town courthouse projects in
Waterford, Wexford, Cork, Limerick, Drogheda, Letterkenny and Mullingar.
The Board has had to take unpalatable decisions to close a number of
smaller, non viable venues elsewhere in the country but the continuing
investment in the county town venues will facilitate the introduction of
more efficient work processes and prisoner transports, allowing the Service
and the other criminal justice agencies to continue to provide frontline
services with the reduced staffing levels that are essential nowadays.
I note that, following record volumes in 2010 and 2011, last year saw a
decline in the overall volume of court business. However, the Annual
Report demonstrates clearly that, despite resource constraints, many
jurisdictions managed to increase sittings and were busier than ever
before, most notably the Supreme Court, which saw the number of appeals
lodged increase to 605 while 114 judgments were issued, an increase of 56%
over 2011.
The Supreme Court volume was clearly unsustainable and, as you are aware,
the Government has responded by providing for an increase by two in the
number of Supreme Court judges as well as pressing ahead with the
Referendum necessary to establish a Court of Appeal which will be put to
the People in the autumn.
Waiting times have been tackled in the High Court and streamlined processes
introduced to facilitate speedier throughput of cases. I note that extra
sittings were also facilitated in the provincial circuit courts to deal
with criminal, family law and civil law business. There were also over
1500 extra sittings of the District Court. This approach is an indication
of the dedication and flexibility with which the judiciary and Courts
Service staff are meeting the current challenges. I consider it
appropriate to pay tribute to the Judiciary as a whole and the staff of the
Courts Service for the enthusiastic and open way in which they have
embraced change and reform – the Government is grateful for their
commitment.
The report also shows that there is much work remaining to be done. These
issues are being addressed both by the Government, within its
responsibility, in putting in place the necessary legislative and
Constitutional framework to facilitate reforms and by the Judiciary within
its area of responsibility in the management and scheduling of cases. This
cooperation is ongoing and I am pleased to note that several
recommendations brought forward by the Working Group on Efficiencies in the
Criminal Justice System, established jointly by the Chief Justice and
myself, have already been implemented. It is this spirit of cooperation
that will allow us to continue to achieve the necessary reforms.
Indeed, the Judiciary and the Courts Service are involved in a number of
cross agency collaborative projects, not least the very successful
initiative in Dolphin House, where clients are offered an alternative to a
courts determined outcome through, in the first instance, offering
mediation information to persons who have made contact with the Courts
Service with a view to issuing proceedings in relation to access, custody
or guardianship matters. A formal mediation process is then offered to
parties willing to engage who can also avail of on-site advice from the
Legal Aid Board. The net annualised saving from the initiative comes to
over €113,000 largely from the overall savings to the courts as a
consequence of such cases being re-directed. To date there have been over
500 mediated agreements resulting from the process. This initiative, which
is also available in Cork and Naas, together with the Efficiencies Working
Group are successful models of collaborative work in the sector and I am
glad to see the Judiciary and the Courts Service at the heart of these
projects.
Other developments are planned. I already mentioned the Court of Appeal
and the Government will tomorrow publish the necessary Amendment Bill which
I intend to progress through the Oireachtas during the coming weeks. This
proposal originated in the report of the Working Group on a Court of Appeal
chaired by the Chief Justice and the final text of the Amendment has been
developed by the Attorney General and my Department in consultation with
the Judiciary, to whom I am very grateful. A very interesting and
productive conference was held on Saturday last to discuss the proposed new
structures for Family Courts and we will now take forward what has been
learned from that process. My intention is that a Referendum to establish a
new Family Court will be held in the course of 2014.
Another milestone this year in terms of reform is the establishment of the
Insolvency Service of Ireland and, clearly, the work of that organisation
will also have a significant impact on the courts system. I know my
officials are grateful for the expert assistance of many people throughout
the Courts Service in dealing with this complex, but sadly necessary,
legislation. The necessary measures are being put in place and the new
Specialist Judges of the Circuit Court will be sworn in next week to allow
for the efficient operation of the new insolvency options.
Again, Chief Justice, I thank you for the Report and I wish you and the
Service continued success.