Full transcript:

Yesterday, in her remarks on her retirement, Ms Justice Irvine commented on how the lack of judges was hampering access to justice. We see this at every level of our justice system. A solicitor, Mr. Gareth Noble, reported on a family list in the District Court in Meath which could not be cleared despite the single judge working a significant number of extra hours. One case involved a man who was making his fourth attempt to lodge an application for an order for access to his children. This was his fourth time going into the court and, once again, his case was not reached. We do not have enough judges for this man to be able to get even a hearing on access to his children. This is hampering justice at every single level. Will the Government use the budget to invest in significant numbers of extra judges so that we can have the effective access to justice that is essential in any democracy?