Manifesto launched by the Council of The Bar of Ireland
The Council of The Bar of Ireland is hosting a Justice Hustings at the Law Library this afternoon, ahead of the General Election on November 29th.
In a discussion moderated by the Chair of the Council of The Bar of Ireland, Seán Guerin SC, six general election candidates will be asked their views on the priorities set out in Justice | A Manifesto for Fairness – the Bar’s Manifesto document, which will be launched at the event.
In the detailed Manifesto document, The Bar calls for a fair system for all, regardless of means, pointing in particular to the areas of civil legal aid, family law and criminal justice, as in need of significant investment, due to increasing demand.
Read our Justice Manifesto
Read our document outlining our priorities for the new government to ensure justice is delivered fairly and effectively.
The current low level of investment in the administration of the court system is also highlighted in the Manifesto. Despite an increase in nominal terms, investment and allocation in the justice system as a proportion of total Government spending has decreased, when compared to 2019/2020, from 4.2% to 3.2%. The shrinking level of investment is reflected in the over stretched services available to citizens seeking access to the courts, leading to significant delays and impacting on timely access to justice.
The Bar is also calling for the next Government to bring forward a legislative response to Third Party Litigation and multi-party actions which are increasingly a legal sector standard, and to move forward with a referendum on a United Patent Court for Ireland.
Attending the Hustings this afternoon are Jim O’Callaghan SC (Fianna Fáil TD), Barry Ward SC (Fine Gael Senator), Ruairí Ó Murchú (Sinn Féin TD ) Ivana Bacik (Labour TD and Leader), Patrick Costello (Green Party TD), and Sinéad Gibney (Social Democrats Candidate).
Speaking ahead of the event, Chair of the Council of The Bar of Ireland, Seán Guerin SC, said;
“Our justice system is suffering the effects of sustained under investment, and the impact of this has been compounded by our growing population and strong economy.
Wait times for criminal cases in the circuit court exceed 100 weeks in seven offices around the country. Legal aid applications have increased by 48% in the last two years. Ireland has the lowest number of judges per capita in the 44 Council of Europe member states. All of this paints a picture of a justice system in chronic need of modernisation and investment.
One certain route to the diminution of our system of rule of law is through the inadequate resourcing of our courts and legal system. For this reason The Bar of Ireland is appealing to candidates and parties in the upcoming general election to commit to an appropriate level of investment, so that public confidence in the rule of law can be maintained.”