The Gazette 1991

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GAZETTE NOVEMBER 1991
A A ^ F J T F INCORPORATE D
I f t / L I I L LA W SOCIET Y
l l M / r I I L 0FIRELAND
I | m mm Vol.85 No.9HNovaite
Viewpoint
The Courts Dispute - A Failure
to Protect the Public's Rights
In
this
Issue
Solicitors Bill Assessed 3 43
Law Brief 3 47
J ob Prospects at Home
and Ab r oad 3 54
People and Places 3 58
J.P. O'Reilly Memorial
Fund 3 60
Old Age and Enduring
Powers of A t t o r n ey 3 67
The Deve l opment of
Judicial Interpretation of
Articles 41 and 4 2 3 71
Professional I n f o rma t i on 3 78
*
Editor:
Barbara Cahálane
Committee:
Eamonn G. Hall, Chairman
Michael V. O'Mahony, Vice-Chairman
John F. Buckley
Patrick McMahon
Elma Lynch
Advertising:
Seán Ó hOisín. Telephone: 305236
Fax: 307860
Printing:
Turner's Printing Co. Ltd., Longford.
*
The views expressed in this publication,
save where otherwise indicated, are the
views of the contributors and not
necessarily the views of the Council of
the Society.
The appearance of an advertisement in
this publication does not necessarily
indicate approval by the Society for the
product or service advertised.
Published at Blackhall Place, Dublin 7.
Tel.: 710711. Telex: 31219. Fax: 710704.
As we go to press, we are in the
middle of the most serious dis-
ruption of the services of the courts
in this country for very many years
- perhaps the most serious ever.
The dispute raises a number of
issues that are of fundamental
importance in this country, none of
which appears to us to have been
addressed, in any serious way, to-
date. And, while it is right that the
Law Society, in its public res-
ponses, has been careful to avoid
making any judgement on the
merits of the issues that have given
rise to the dispute, we think it is
proper to raise some of these im-
portant questions.
The first of these concerns a
person's right to have access to the
courts, a right which has been
seriously eroded and, in some cases,
denied as a result of this disputa In
the order of things, this right is at
least as important as the right of a
person to have access to public
transport or even to have his letters
delivered through the post. Yet the
threat to its existence, as a result of
the action of a relatively small
number of civil servants in the courts
service, has scarcely been noticed by
the media while the disputes
affecting public transport and An
Post have been given daily headline
coveraga The courts dispute is
causing serious inconvenience and
even, in some cases, hardship but,
more importantly, ordinary citizens
are being denied a right guaranteed
to them under the Constitution.
In drawing attention to this state of
affairs, we are not suggesting that
civil servants who work in the
courts area should not have the
right, enjoyed by other citizens, to
withdraw their labour in pursuance
of what they perceive to be their
just demands. We think, however,
that serious consideration needs to
be given to ensuring that, in relation
to this vital public service, there is
a mechanism in place which will
enable the grievances of staff to be
pursued through a process of con-
ciliation and arbitration, thereby
ensuring that disruptions of this
kind do not occur. In our view, the
courts service is as vital to the
maintenance of the stability of our
society as the services of the police
and the army. There are, of course,
two sides to every dispute but the
primary responsibility, we would
suggest, of ensuring that industrial
relations within the courts service
is maintained at a satisfactory level
rests with the Minister for Justice.
We understand that the nature of
the claim in this case puts it outside
the scope of the scheme of con-
ciliation and arbitration that exists
within the civil service. We find this
difficult to understand. If a demand
for the upgrading of staff who are
claiming that the value and im-
portance of their work has changed
for various reasons, including the
impact of legislation increasing the
jurisdictions of the courts, is out-
side the scope of the conciliation
and arbitration service, this surely
needs to be looked at again.
The dispute has, once again, foc-
used the spotlight on the courts
service where, unfortunately, all has
not been well for some tima We
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