Mattie McGrath calls for urgent reforms on court delays

I am happy to be able to speak this evening, broadly in support of this amendment, and indeed at the business committee, and indeed with subsequent communications, since we had agreed to progress this matter as a matter of urgency, because it is. Justice delayed is justice denied, as an old saying, and you, in practising yourself, Minister of State and Taoiseach would understand that, and the delays. So, as I said, look, there's lots of many, many reasons for delays, and the backlog and the delays now, and that are there for all the course, but certainly for the circular course sittings and all are just enormous, and it's taken seven, eight, could be ten years for certain courses of a predicted longevity are taking place, so that's not good. I have no hang-up relief, a Garda member is unable once, I wouldn't be home upon the fact that it has to be a servant either, that the Sinn Fein amendment, but I would say that it has to be Garda with some relevant experience, obviously, of the court system, and, you know, you know, that by learning, and I suppose, to be in the court service, and whatever, but any time I've been in the course, to see, to see, say, umpteen with several members of the Garda, Sheikh Khan, waiting, and waiting, and waiting, and maybe not being called at all, and whatever delays, and adjournments, or whatever, it's a complete and utter waste of Garda time. Now, I'm not for proper, and fair, and speedy, uh, justice, and above all, Deputy, uh, Deputy Dutton said, you know, it might not always get, uh, the justice that you expect from the justice system, might get a lot of law, but, uh, no justice, not justice, in your, in your eyes, and it can be also frightfully expensive, and it is frightfully expensive, frightfully, frightfully expensive, for those who have to pay, and I, I, I, I speak to the legal aid, with your permission in a minute, uh, Colonel Conor, but, um, and, um, I honestly believe, look, having 10 or 12 grand aid, uh, 10 citizens, and, uh, being there, and, for there's so many other duties in the community, waiting to, to, to deal with them, when numbers in my division, and especially in the Caire Castle District, and, uh, are never as low, never as scarce, and, I want to salute, actually, because they're brilliant, the community grand aid there, we had, Sergeant Ray Maloney, who's moved on from, as a community sergeant, uh, of, of, just, top class, and, he's team under, of, of, of Jodie, Gough, and, Julie, Davering, and, last, Friday, we got, amalgamation of a new school, probably, 35 years in the making, or longer, and, it was wonderful to see, um, ge alt, Kevin McGinnis, of the Terrific Corps, and, as I said, the, the, Julie, Davering, and, Julie, Davering, and, Julie, Gaugh, and, there, leading where Piper led the schools. The two schools came together in what's known as the Old Convent Jad which they came into now and walked probably almost a half mile to the new school. The excitement was, but it was lovely that the guests were able to do that to give them the safety of the Gareth Escort and indeed with Piper leading them to the new school, Bun School of Cawthorne in Eastlake. And it was a great momentous day. Almost 400, 380 I think. And for the sixth class I suppose they won't have long. They're only in a couple of weeks, a week and a half because they're going to move around. But nonetheless it's a project under the stewardship of Mr Horne, the principal there. But it's great to have the Gareth Escort available to you. And I know some of the Gareth Escort and I say that kids come on to work when they're not on duty. Don the uniform and do that kind of work. That's what they do in many areas because they're with the people, for the people and stand with the people. And no police force in the world can't police without the support of the people. But it's a two-way street. So when you get down and dirty with the people and when you visit them and get involved in community events with them and community-focused events, you know, and community alert to neighbourhood, what, and you name it, the property racking that we're taking, that's starting to take place now in my own village of starting it out shortly with the assistance of former members of Moonton and Tear and whatever and our own FOSS team, it's very, very, very, very, very, very good. So to say that was that aspect of it. But I am... The free legal aid, that has to be reformed. And why does it take, Minister, so long to reform any of the legislations? I'm all for free legal aid for people that are able to afford their defence, because they're entitled to defence in any democratic society. But I'm for three strikes and you're out. I'm not for the revolving door system that you're back for free legal aid umpteen times, sometimes up to 50 and 60 times. They are milking the system. And the practitioners, the legal people, will have to take their... They'll take a bit of the blame as well. It's a system that's revolved and revolved and revolved. And what about the victims? The victims are lost here and we're very slow and we have a victim as a tractor and everything else. And I know, I won't say trying to help a family to find out, you know, of a very, very serious heinous as a murder, actually, conviction and when the person will be getting out because of the locality. And there's no follow-through from the justice system with the families of the loved ones who have been swept from them. Swept from them. And the life taken away. So we need huge reforms. This is only one amendment to deal, as I said, as a result of a High Court case taken where the High Court ruled that the judge, that the prosecutor had to be there. The Garda that issued this, that obviously investigated the offence and issued the summons had to be there. That's going to have more and more and more and more and more Garda. As I said, waste of time is shocking. I'm not saying that should be diminished in any way, but we have a competent guarantee to do it and it's normally, it's normally, you know, experienced guarantee to do it, but having that number of guarantees held up, you know. There's just two of us, God count. No, there's Richard, I don't know how to myself. Glass con-cola. And I have to mention, Minister, Conmel Gata Station. It's going on, I mentioned the school, 35, 40 years. This is going on, 50, 60 years. We have planning for a brand new station. We have a wonderful design. We have a site now and we're running different packages and bundles with different stations all over the country. Sligo, I've named one and Iglan Akiltey and others and we've been changed and changed and changed but the last change was a gigantic change and people are left bewildered in Conmel under the person of Superintendent Willie Lachey and the chief Derry Smart and told us because we had our design. We were in a bundle with two or three and there would be contractors there that would be doing gathered stations and science but now we've been lumped into a tripartrite with the children's law court and in my honest opinion in my experience and you know who would be a lot more experienced than I would in building you have specialised builders that have built court buildings because they're normally a very finish and very stately kind of building but the gathered stations I'm not saying they should be any less but they're a different animal pardon the phrase they're different so we feel this is going to delay unduly again delay delay prevaricate delay delay because and I'm asking you minister and as I asked minister for justice and she came and visited and saw the state of it two weeks ago several ministers of justice have seen it and Tisic has seen it as well it's the kinsing it's shameful and we cannot wait any longer to expect our gravity to give a service to the public and for the public accessing it as well it's just not fit for purpose it's a building leased by the county council they want it back for many many reasons as I said they have a lovely site in the old king and barracks they have planning have design have everything ready to go we shouldn't be bundled with any part of the court service because we've accepted different packages and bundled with other colleagues at the stations around the country and I know when the tendering people would be tendering for those kind of projects a different skill set is needed and different architects and everything else to do the courts and I don't believe there's even a design stage I could be wrong and you can correct me but this is not good enough and it's not good enough to the people of Clown Melon is out to the library and it's not good enough to the garage in the corner and it can't be there to carry on go to Marcus