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Dáil
‹ Order of Business

Construction and family court legislation

Summary

Mattie McGrath seeks progress on the Construction Contracts Bill and a dedicated family-court structure, citing business failures and families being excluded from repossession hearings. The Taoiseach says the construction implementation body is not fully operational and has no publication date for the family courts Bill.

I want to ask about two tranches of legislation. One is the long-awaited Construction Contracts Bill, which we have heard so much noise about. Many small businesses have been forced out of business and this is continuing. It is farcical at this stage that the Bill is not yet introduced.

In the justice area there is a plan to establish a dedicated family court structure. There have been three cases recently where the courts have locked out family members, colleagues and other supporters in cases where the banks are trying to repossess people's homes. It happened in Waterford yesterday, it happened in Trim already and it has happened before in Dublin. People are entitled to justice. The courts locked out members of the National Union of Journalists and members of the press, who I am not here to speak for. Anyway, justice should be carried out in public. Is this coming from Government or where is it coming from? The banks are doing dirty work and are getting obstructed by people genuinely making their case in the court, standing up and defending themselves. In many cases they cannot afford legal representatives. When family members and friends tried to go in yesterday they were locked out and treated like criminals. This is an alarming situation. I call on the Taoiseach, the Minister for Finance and the Minister for Justice and Equality to deal with the matter. It is simply not good enough that people are not allowed to attend court. These are family members and those who want to support people in a lay capacity.

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Michael P. Kitt An Leas-Cheann Comhairle Fianna Fáil

We will get the Taoiseach to respond.

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It is making them look as if they are going to cause trouble. They have no intention of causing trouble. They are defending their homes.

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Michael P. Kitt An Leas-Cheann Comhairle Fianna Fáil

I have ten more speakers.

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Enda Kenny The Taoiseach Fine Gael

The Construction Contracts Bill has gone through the Houses, as Deputy McGrath is aware, but I gather the implementation body is not fully operational yet. I assume the Deputy is referring to a recent dispute with a construction firm not too far from here. I will send Deputy McGrath an up-to-date report on the current situation.

There is no date for the publication of the family courts Bill as yet.

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