The Gazette 1991

GAZETTE

NOVEMBER 1991

service itself has been a 'Cinderella' for many years and, because t he staff lack t he musc le of t he police and prison officers, t he problem is not ge t t i ng t he a t t en t i on it de- serves. Moreover, it seems to us t ha t, wha t ever t he merits of t he c l a im by t he Civil and Public Service Union, there mu st be a serious question about a s y s t em of administration in w h i ch there can be as many as four or five different grades pe r f o rmi ng wo rk t hat in mo st non-civil service organisa- tions wo u ld be done by a single clerical grade. A more impo r t ant question, how- ever, is t he way in wh i ch the courts service itself is s t r uc t u r ed and managed. It is not an exaggeration t o say t hat there is n o t a cou r ts service, as such. It is a disjointed ama l gam of d i f f e r ent civil service o f f i ces covering t he four levels of our cou r ts w i t h a multiplicity of grades and w i t h no clear overall, unified management structure. It is totally lacking in cohesiveness. It is t i me t hat this ma t t er was add- ressed. The Law Society has, in the past, called for t he establishment

of a new courts service to be headed by a chief executive and w i t h a co-ordinated management structure wh i ch will be given the resources, both in terms of finance and manpower, to develop the ad- ministration of the courts. We be- lieve t hat the case for this has been made and t hat it is n ow time for a response f r om the Minister. • TO LET (By Assignment) 14 UPR. O R M O ND QUAY, DUBL IN 7 Prominent Office Building * Close to Four Courts

V i ewp o i nt Courts Dispute - A Failure to Protect the Public's Rights have said before t hat there is an urgent need for a comp r ehens i ve exami na t i on of many features of our courts service. The Law Society has f r equen t ly adverted to t he inordinate delays in t he Circuit Court in some areas of t he c o u n t ry and in t he High Cou rt in general. Our cou rt procedures, and es- pecially those relating to the way in w h i c h cases are initiated and presented in cou r t, are in some impo r t ant respects o u t mo d ed and are n ow c on t r i bu t i ng to delays and adding to cost. The listing system in the High Court, to give but one example, is in need of overhaul. Our courthouse accommodation in some areas is very poor. In a number o f areas, it is nothing short of a dis- grace. Once again, the budget allocated for the courts service has been cut as a result of public ex- penditure cut-backs w i th the result that many important refurbishment projects will not n ow go ahead this year nor, as far as we can see, next year either. The fact is that the

* Designated Area Status * Lease 35 years from 1982 * Rent £17,000 p.a. * Next Review Jan. 1995 * 3,295 sq. ft.

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