Mattie McGrath urges urgent action on wards of court crisis
Mattie McGrath raised the plight of wards of court, citing national figures and individual family cases and demanding urgent clarification from the Minister for Justice. He argued the current system is inadequate and highlighted families left with almost no funds after court cases.
Key figures
Mattie McGrath set out the scale of the issue, stating there are 2,784 wards of court with 18,504 minors involved and a fund of £2.2 billion. He referenced figures obtained through a committee to underline the national scope of the wards of court system.
Human impact
McGrath described tragic individual cases to illustrate the problem - including a paraplegic son, elderly parents left to care for seriously sick children, and a family reduced to 7 euro after long-closed court settlements. He characterised these situations as emotive and deeply concerning for vulnerable families.
System failures and funding concerns
He said the wards of court system is not working - costs from serious injuries and accidents have not been properly factored in and money can run out. McGrath warned that the current arrangements leave children and elderly carers without adequate support or funding.
Ministerial response and inquiry
McGrath called for urgent clarification from the Minister for Justice and noted an examination of the water court system is underway. He said the minister acknowledged the legitimate points raised and promised to come back in relation to the matter.
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Teachta, wards of court is a very important and emotive issue. There are 2,784 wards of court with 18,504 minors involved in the wards of court system and there's a fund of £2.2 billion. We need urgent clarification from the Minister for Justice. There are families outside the gate today and one woman, her husband is in the 80s and her son, I know her son now, is paraplegic and they have no, they're down to 7 euro of the war that they got back a long time ago for no in the courts and it's an inadequate system. It's not working. So the Minister of Justice needs to deal with it here and we got information on the figures through the committee but there's some very tragic cases. Obviously these people get seriously injured or accidents or whatever but the costs haven't been factored in. and the money runs out and the left elderly parents trying to look after them. Very seriously, sick children with no funding. I think that's a very important point. I will refer to the Minister for Justice in terms of my understanding as there is an examination of the water court system underway and I think you've raised legitimate points and I will come back to you in relation to it.
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