2163. Deputy Paula Butterly asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the timeframe for court reform, including but not limited to increasing the number of judges, and accelerating the establishment and operation of the family courts; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [60073/26]

Management of the courts and operational matters, including matters pertaining to the maintenance and use of court buildings, are the responsibility of the Courts Service which is independent in the exercise of these functions. The Courts Service is midway through a ten-year Modernisation Programme, designed around the needs of the court user, with clear, standardised services and accessible data to inform decisions.

To ensure that our judiciary is resourced appropriately, 24 additional judges were appointed in 2023 on foot of the Judicial Planning Working Group report. On December 10 2025, the Courts and Civil Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2025 was signed into law by the President, and the relevant provisions to allow for the recruitment of additional judges were commenced on 30 January 2026. The Act provides for the increase in the number of judges in each Court jurisdiction by a further 21 posts and I intend to ask the Judicial Appointments Commission to commence the recruitment process for these additional judges in the coming months. As a result, the number of judges across all Irish courts now stands at 219, representing an increase of approximately 25% since 2023.

The Family Courts Act 2024 is a key component of the Department's Family Justice Strategy and contains a number of provisions designed to make the family court process more focussed on the needs of children as well as user-friendly, safer and less costly. On 22 April 2026, I published the Implementation Plan for the Family Courts that sets out the timeline for implementation on a phased basis. Preparatory work is currently ongoing to establish the first family courts in early 2027.

The Dublin Family Courts Complex will be delivered by way of Public Private Partnership; it is being procured by the NDFA in conjunction with the OPW, using the competitive dialogue procurement procedure pursuant to EU and national procurement law. The Complex is a flagship project within the overall programme of family justice reform and will directly support the implementation of the Family Courts Act, 2024. Subject to the successful completion of the procurement process in 2026, the current timescale indicates that construction is set to commence in 2027.