Extra security sought in property cases after protests

After a series of disturbances in courthouses across the country there are calls for extra security to be present during home and property repossession cases, the Irish Independent reports.

Officials are now profiling upcoming cases to assess whether the need for additional support for security is needed, as a result of new pre-case protocols between Court Service officials and senior gardaí.

The action comes after several court hearings were disrupted by members of anti-authoritarian groups such as the Land League and Integrity Ireland – with some hearings being adjourned as court officials have fled from their bench.

Brendan Ryan, chief executive of the Courts Service, said: “No judges have had to leave the bench, but some country registrars have.”

These type of incidents have occurred in court houses in Mayo, Wexford and Limerick ncidents have occurred at courthouses in Mayo, Wexford and Limerick over the past year.

A report produced last March, following a high level security review, recommended new arrangements to be implemented.

Mr Ryan said: “Arising out of that there were various recommendations, including trying to profile these cases to ensure that the courts inform the guards at the appropriate time that there may be an issue.

“The guards also do their own profiling.”

Proceedings were adjourned during a hearing in Castlebar, Co Mayo last September, after members of the Integrity Ireland group attempted to place the judge and a garda superintendant under citizen’s arrest.

Mr Ryan said it was “appalling that the judicial system should be attacked” in this manner.

“It should not happen. At the end of the day in any democratic society you need a functioning efficient independent court. That is the basis to every democracy,” he said.

David Barniville, president of the Bar Council, said such incidents were becoming “more prevalent”.

He added: “Some of these groups, their sole objective seems to be to undermine the State, undermine the judiciary, undermine the rule of law.

“There have been a lot of cases of judges being physically intimidated, verbally intimidated, interfered with, and their courts being taken over by groups of these people.”

The Courts Service annual report published yesterday revealed court-sanctioned debt settlements increased by 84 per cent last year, up to 1,735.

Speaking at the launch of the report, Justice Minister Frances Fitzgerald said this was the result of personal insolvency legislation reform, which gives the court the ability to review and if appropriate, approve insolvency deals where a bank has rejected them.

She added: “Court rules and procedures for repossession cases were also streamlined to assist people who are unfamiliar with court rules and proceedings.”

The report revealed that the courts saw a 40 per cent decrease in High court possession orders – only 113 last year.

New cases for possession in high and circuit courts amounted to 5,169, down 38 per cent on 2014.