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GAZETTE
V I E W P O I N T
Publ ic Expendi ture - Credit whe re
Credi t is Due
JANUARY/FEBRUARY 1994
It is not often in these pages that we find
reason to praise the Government or
politicians. However, for those
concerned with the administration of
justice in this country and with
achieving a justice system that offers
accessibility on equal terms to all
citizens regardless of their means, the
Government's expenditure estimates for
1994, published in mid-December,
contained some good news. The
allocation in the estimates of £23.4m to
the courts shows an increase of 38% on
expenditure in 1993. Of this, almost
£4.25m is being allocated to capital
expenditure on courthouse accommo-
dation representing an increase of 145%
on the level of spending in 1993. More-
over, the vote for the Department of
Equality and Law Reform shows a 68%
increase on the 1993 figure, and from
this, the allocation to the Legal Aid
Board will rise by 56%, increasing its
funding by almost £2m to a total of
£5m.
In a time of increasing demands on the
public purse, these figures indicate a
measure of good faith and a responsive-
ness on the part of Government to sub-
missions made in the recent past by the
Law Society and other interested groups.
They are a welcome indication of a
willingness on the part of the Govern-
ment to face up to its responsibilities
both in relation to improving the courts
and providing adequate help to enable
people to vindicate their rights. Having
said that, it must also be said that the
Government has not gone far enough.
Courts Service
In the autumn of 1993 the Law Society
and the Bar Council made a joint
submission to the Minister for Justice on
the Courts Service. The submission
identified the shortcomings of the
existing service and, in particular,
highlighted the problems caused by
delay and the appalling conditions and
lack of facilities in many courthouses
throughout the country. A start is now
being made on the building side.
However, the submission noted that the
Government had spent less than £lm (in
total) over the past five years on
information technology in the courts
service and argued that modern
information technology systems were
vital to improve efficiency in adminis-
tration and to speed up the handling of
the vast amount of documentation that
goes into court work. Addressing the
prizegiving ceremony of the Niall
McCarthy Essay Competition last
November, the Minister for Justice, Mrs.
Maire Geoghegan Quinn
acknowledged
the importance of computerisation in the
development of a modern and efficient
court service; she said that technology in
the courts was an issue that had not
moved as quickly as she would have
liked but expressed confidence that
substantial progress would be made in
the future. In this context, it is
disappointing that the provision of
£721,000 for office machineries and
supplies to the courts in 1994 represents
a reduction of £100,000 (12%) on the
1993 figure. Such a modest sum would
hardly allow for adequate training for
staff, or the provision of hardware, let
alone investment in the necessary
software.
The Law Society/Bar Council
submission also argued that the courts
were capable of being run in a
businesslike manner and that the civil
side of court work could, with proper
management, be turned into a self
financing operation. It is difficult to
envisage this being achieved without
adequate investment in information
technology. The Government should
realise that such investment would
ultimately pay for itself in terms of the
benefits of increased efficiency, saving
of staff time and elimination of delay.
Legal Aid
The increase in the budget of the Legal
Aid Board by £2m to £5m will go some
way towards reducing the appalling
waiting lists at Legal Aid Centres
throughout the country. However, the
Law Society has argued that a
comprehensive scheme of civil legal aid
could be provided for an expenditure of
£8.5m per annum. Given the importance
of what is at stake - the right of all
citizens to have access to justice on an
equal footing, regardless of their means
- £8.5m is not a high price to pay. The
solicitors' profession has not been a lone
voice in highlighting the need for a
comprehensive, statutory scheme of
legal aid; FLAC, the Bar Council, and
civil rights groups have all campaigned
on this issue over the years.
The main point made by nearly all of the
interest groups that have lobbied on this
issue remains valid: in the absence of a
comprehensive civil legal aid scheme,
reform of the law - particularly the
possible introduction of divorce
legislation - will ring hollow to those
sections of the community that cannot
afford to avail of legal services. The
record of this Government on law
reform during its first year in office is a
promising one, but the provision of
adequate legal aid is an essential
element of any package of law reform if
the ultimate goal of achieving an
equitable society is to be achieved.
The Law Society has contrasted the
provision for legal aid with the
allocation in the 1994 estimates to the
Department of Agriculture for the
development of horse racing and
greyhound racing in this country of
£7.3m - an increase of 45% over the
1993 figure. This is substantially in
excess of the total amount allocated to
legal aid. This comparison speaks
volumes about the values and priorities
of our society; greater concern has
been shown for the horse and
greyhound racing industries than for the
rights of ordinary people to have equal
access to the courts to vindicate
their rights.
The fact that the Government has begun
to address the shortcomings in the courts
service, and to allocate additional
resources to legal aid is welcome, but
only as a first step; much more needs to
be done.
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