asked the Minister for Justice the number of persons who were returned for trial to the Circuit Criminal Courts during the period 1st June, 1959, to the nearest available date; how many such trials were, upon the application of the State, removed from the local venue to the Central Criminal Court in Dublin, and the reason for each such application; and if he will give details of the additional expense incurred by the State and by the accused persons as a result of such transfers.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Trials at Criminal Courts.
8.
The number of persons returned for trial on criminal charges to the Circuit Court during the period from the 1st June, 1959 to the 31st May, 1960, was 345 of whom 17 were sent forward for trial to the Central Criminal Court on the application of the Attorney General under Section 54 of the Courts of Justice Act, 1924.
The Attorney General does not inform me of the reasons for transfers sought on his behalf, nor am I concerned with such reasons.
It is not possible to estimate the costs, whether more or less, that might have been incurred but for the transfers, as these are purely conjectural.