Vol. 471 No. 2
157 Mr. Barry asked the Minister for Justice the number of Circuit Court criminal cases transferred from Cork to Dublin on foot of the new regulations; the way in which this figure compared to the figure for the previous year; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [20510/96]
The number of criminal cases transferred from Cork Circuit Court to Dublin Circuit Court in 1995 was 87 and between 1 January 1996 and 30 September 1996 was two.
The transfer of criminal cases from one Circuit to another is now governed by section 32 of the Courts and Court Officers Act, 1995. The Act does away with automatic right of transfer of criminal cases from provincial Circuit Courts to Dublin. Such transfers had exacerbated delays in the hearing of criminal cases in Dublin and had also proven very costly in terms of transporting gardaí and witnesses. It is also possible that the incentive to transfer these cases was often nothing more than a wish to have the hearing of the case delayed. There can of course be legitimate grounds for such transfers and therefore the Act provides that an application to transfer a trial to Dublin will only be granted where the Judge is satisfied that it would be manifestly unjust not to do so. Since the implementation of the Act of 1995 undue delays in the hearing of cases in the Dublin Circuit Criminal Court have been substantially reduced.
The President of the Circuit Court has assigned an additional judge to the Cork Circuit and there are currently no appreciable delays in hearing criminal cases in Cork.
