Mattie McGrath (Tipperary, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I, too, am delighted to avail of the opportunity to speak to this motion on the last day before we break. I have been asking on the Order of Business and during Question Time when this board would be set up because it is long overdue. I have a list of the names of those to be appointed and I am glad to see it is happening. For too long, we have not had any real regulation. There were promises but it has taken a long time for it to be set up since the legislation was passed through the House.

It is the same as many situations regarding the courts. I know there is a separation of duties but we must have some accountability. We had a referendum on the setting up of a Court of Appeal. I, for one, was not clear about what its functions were going to be at the time. It was just a new tier of judges with no indication as to the workload that would be involved or the number of cases to be held. We know there are massive backlogs in the courts and justice delayed is justice denied.

I welcome the setting up of this authority. I do not know how the people were selected. I am sure they are all eminent people but I do not see the names of lay people per seor, as I call them, ordinary folk. In many cases, they would have as much to offer and would bring a different perspective. The members need not all be former or serving public servants or people who held public office. It is important that we have a blend and balance on the board. It is also important that the board would be subject to timelines and have clearly laid out functions and accountability. Above all, it is important that the report to the Oireachtas would show that it is a functioning board and doing what it says on the tin. The need for it was there.

We know that because we do not seem to have any oversight of what goes on in the courts. With all due respect to my eminent colleague on my right - I am not barrister bashing - the courts are a difficult place for ordinary people to get justice. Yesterday, a Deputy asked about the special courts we are meant to set up to deal with the backlog in repossessions. Nothing is happening. There is a dangerous vibe out there and banks, receivers, sheriffs, repossession agents and, God knows, that whole army which has been set up are enjoying a lucrative business. I would also include some county registrars on that list. They are acting behind closed doors with no oversight and, in some cases, are acting appallingly against ordinary people. These are middle class people who tried to house themselves and paid their way. They paid for everything but ran into difficulties. All they want is fair play and respect, a bit of relief and to renegotiate terms. Some of them are dealing with vulture funds. Others are dealing with the so-called pillar banks, the banks we bailed out, but there is no redress. It is a daunting place and very hard for lay litigants to get access to justice in the courts.

I hope this new board will have teeth and will take up the cudgels for the ordinary, plain people of Ireland who pass by the Four Courts on the quays and do not know what goes on in there. I have been there and stood with a good few of them. I had to move up from the back of the courtroom by two, three, four or perhaps five or six rows. I could not hear a thing. I sat beside litigants who could not hear what was going on either. I do not know the meaning of that. It is difficult enough to understand the language but it is appalling if we cannot hear what is being said. There must be a radical overhaul of how justice is delivered and how it is seen to be delivered.

I have been through the system myself. I have a fair idea of it and I know how prohibitively expensive it is. I know the cost of doing business. I raised that competitiveness issue yesterday. If a person has to go anywhere near the legals, the money clocks up. It is a cash cow and it needs to be regulated. The free legal aid system also needs to be examined. I know of situations where free legal aid was availed of but top-ups were also being paid by those using it. They are in the business of crime and getting away with it using the proceeds of crime. We dealt with the Proceeds of Crime (Amendment) Bill 2016 last night. We need deeper examination of these issues. I wish the board well, but the jury is out on it and how it will perform as far as I am concerned.

See this speech in context