Vol. 417 No. 5
83 Mr. J. Bruton asked the Minister for Justice the reason the number of ordinary civil cases heard in the District Courts declined from 74,132 in 1988 to 58,845 in 1990; if this trend continued in 1991; and whether this reflects, in any way, on the efficiency of the courts in this type of case or on the pressure of other business.
The numbers of ordinary civil cases dealt with in the District Court in the years referred to by the Deputy are as follows: 1988, 74,132; 1989, 66,714; 1990, 59,845; 1991, 66,982.
These figures are in respect of legal years ended 31 July.
A wide variety of factors affect the numbers of civil cases being brought before the District Court. During the period mentioned by the Deputy and dating back to 1982, the jurisdiction limit of the District Court in civil cases was fixed at £2,500. Due to inflation, the number of claims under the jurisdiction limit of £2,500 would be expected to decline. Claims above the District Court jurisdiction limit would be appropriate to be dealt with in the Circuit Court.
