Speech by Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration, Jim O'Callaghan at Launch of the Courts Service Annual Report 2024 & Office of the Legal Costs Adjudicators Annual Report 2024

Ladies and gentlemen, it’s a great honour for me to be here this morning to launch the 2024 report for the Courts Service and indeed the report for the Office of the Legal Costs Adjudicators (OCLA) Report 2024.

I would like to thank CEO of the Courts Service, Angela Denning for inviting me to today and I just want to commend the Courts Service and indeed Angela and all her staff for the excellent work that the Courts Service does throughout the year.

It’s a great historical occasion to acknowledge that 2024 marked the centenary of independent Courts in Ireland. But I think this building reminds us as well that history didn’t begin in Ireland, when we got our independence in 1922 or 1916, depending on your perspective.

When you look at the courtroom here, one of the great historic sites, not just in Dublin, but In Ireland, it reflects the important role the courts played in Irish history. Every time I come here, I think of the trial of Robert Emmet, which took place here in 1803 and indeed the trial of John Mitchell and other Fenians.

The history of Ireland is not just written in the politics of Ireland, it’s written through the courts as well which, as you know, are extremely important in recording our past.

I just want everyone to know that I, and my Department, are committed to ensuring that the Courts Service has adequate resources, so that it can continue to support the judiciary in their important role they play on an annual basis.

It’s also important to reflect as well, as I said earlier, that the centenary of the Courts of Justice Act 1924 really signifies the fact that part of the reason why Irish Independence has been such a success is because of the independence of the judiciary in the country.

Again, I just want to commend the judiciary for this exceptional role they have played in ensuring Ireland is a functioning, successful, independent post-colonial state. That couldn’t have happened without an independent judiciary.

The Courts Service has as Ms Justice Dunne stated, obviously it didn’t exist as far back as 1924, I think it has been a very admirable and appropriate development over the past 25-30 years in ensuring that the courts are run professionally and independently and that the judges are supported in their tasks.

In 2024, the Courts Service received funding of over €191 million, including capital funding of around €67 million.

This year, the budget allocation rose to €199.8 million, nearly €200 million with additional funding to provide for the recruitment of additional staff to support an expanding Judiciary.

As Ms. Justice Dunne stated, judicial resourcing is an absolute priority in order to ensure that citizens get speedy access to the courts.

You’ll be aware of the work of the Judicial Planning Working Group and I want you to know that the Government is committed to ensuring that we’re going to get further additional judges appointed for the purpose of ensuring that citizens can access the courts on a more expedited basis.

The Programme for Government, commits to an additional 20 judges and they will be appointed within the first 12 months of this government which means that they will be appointed shortly, this year and indeed, early next year.

The Judicial Appointments Commission process is in operation at present and I want to commend and thank the commission for the work it’s doing, and we will see appointments being made pursuant to that statutory provision in the very near future.

There has also been significant investment in the Courts Service modernisation programme, and it is important to acknowledge how our court system has continuously evolved to meet the needs of Irish society.

In 2024, the Courts Service continued with the third phase of its ten-year Modernisation Programme, which is aimed at using digital solutions to transform the way services are delivered.

2024 also brought a transition from the first Corporate Strategic Plan in support of the ten-year Modernisation Programme to the second Strategic Plan, covering the years 2024-2027.

In 2024 my department allocated €1.4 million in additional funding for the progression of e-Probate and of other elements of the Courts Modernisation Programme and I think that has been particularly effective.

The ‘digital first' approach is transforming the Courts Service's Information and Communications (ICT) systems, enabling the development of digital filing and online transactions with Courts and court offices. 2024 marks another year of key milestones towards improving the technology in the Courts Service.

One of the significant successes that have taken place in recent times with the Court Services is the E-Probate system.

As a constituency TD I recall frequent complaints from constituents about the delay in the probate office but now that delay has evaporated because of the efficiencies put in place by the Courts Service and in fact the processing times for probate in the Dublin Probate Office were reduced from 20 weeks at the start of 2024 to five weeks at year-end. So that’s a very effective improvement.

It’s also the case that we have specialised courts. We’re moving further towards increased specialisation, allowing judges to work full time on specific case areas.

And we can recall, as it’s over 20 years ago that that specialisation is what started with the establishment of the Commercial Court and I know President of the High Court, Mr Barniville, who is here, is continuing with that progress to ensure that we have that specialisation.

The Commercial Court heard a range of cases including significant planning and environmental matters, prior to the establishment of the Planning and Environment division of the High Court.

I want to thank Mr Justice Barniville for his support in continuing to ensure that the Specialization is advanced.

And also now, following its launch in December 2023, that 2024 saw the first full year of operation of the new Planning and Environment division of the High Court.

That division has a strong focus on case-management and provides for an expedited procedure for hearings for certain cases.

I am pleased to say that we will see development in terms of Hammond Lane in the near future.

2024 was a very important year legislatively with the enactment of the Family Courts Act, and the Programme for Government commits to implementing the Family Justice Strategy as well as developing a successive plan.

So I think it’s extremely important that we continue to ensure that the estate available throughout the courts, but particularly in the area of family law is improved and modernised.

It is not appropriate to ask people who have found themselves in a very traumatic part of their life to be engaged in family disputes in court houses which are not suitable for the extent of the issues that they have to deal with.

I also just want to just acknowledge the report of the Office of the Legal Costs Adjudicators. Mr. Barry Magee was appointed as Chief Legal Costs Adjudicator in September last year, under the previous administration. I would like to congratulate him and his fellow administrators on their work.

Transparency throughout the adjudication process is essential and I wish to commend the work of this office in this regard. It’s noteworthy some of highlights from the Cost Adjudicators report such as:

So the Office of the Legal Costs Adjudicator is doing, the statutory function that was given to it pursuant to the legislation, that is to ensure that costs are adjudicated in a transparent, open and fair way.

I want to conclude by once again thanking the Courts Service, Angela and Ms. Justice Dunne, for inviting me to attend here today.

I also want to acknowledge the fact that Courts Service, really the staff operate throughout the country, and sometimes they’re the people who aren’t given recognition and in every District court and every Circuit court throughout the country there are people employed by the Courts Service who are doing exemplary work and I want to acknowledge them and thank them through you Angela and Ms. Justice Dunne for the excellent work that they do on an annual basis.

Thank you very much ladies and gentlemen.