Courts figures ‘show need for legal-aid reform’
A leading Dublin family-law solicitor has expressed “disappointment” about the absence of a final completion date for the Dublin Family Courts projects at Hammond Lane in the Courts Service’s annual report.
Keith Walsh SC said that the arrival of a modern, integrated court facility that met the needs of a modern family-justice system was “long overdue”.
The Courts Service report says that, by the end of 2025, the project was “well positioned’ to complete the procurement process this year.
'Committed'
The project was handed over to the National Development Finance Agency (NDFA) last year, and three candidates have been shortlisted to participate in the tender stage.
Speaking at the report launch, Minister for Justice Jim O’Callaghan said: “I want to see, and am committed to see, work starting on Hammond Lane next year.”
Referring to the length of time the process was taking, he added: “I want you to know that the complex will be built with the specific needs of family-law users in mind, and will provide a modern facility where family-law cases can be held in a dignified, secure, and non-threatening environment.”
Rise in areas ‘least prepared’
Walsh said that the Courts Service figures showed that the greatest increases in cases were coming in the areas least prepared – citing in particular an 18% annual increase in childcare cases in the District Court and an 8.5% rise in domestic-violence cases.
The SC pointed out that domestic-violence cases were often legally aided using the private-practitioner panel, which he described as “at breaking point”.
He said that figures “further underline the urgent need for changes to the civil legal-aid system to be introduced immediately”.
Walsh also called for solicitors and barristers to be involved in the working group set up to implement the Family Courts Act.