Vol. 553 No. 5
349 Mr. Ring asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the number of judges presiding in the Central Criminal Court; if there is a shortfall in the number of judges for such courts; and the average waiting list for a criminal court case to come to trial on a regional basis if applicable. [14575/02]
The allocation of judges to the Central Criminal Court is a matter for the President of the High Court. I understand the number of judges assigned to that court by the president for most of this year has been three but that, on occasion, less than three judges have been assigned.
There is a waiting period of more than 18 months for cases which are currently being allocated trial dates. All Central Criminal Court cases are heard in Dublin and cases are not listed on a regional basis. Four judges will be appointed by the Government to the High Court shortly, two replacement judges and two additional judges. A High Court judge should also be returning to the court having completed his functions as chairman of the benchmarking body. These appointments will allow the President of the High Court scope to allocate additional judicial resources to the Central Criminal Court.
The board of the Courts Service has established a working group to undertake a comprehensive review of the present distribution of jurisdiction and business among the courts with a view to making proposals to me. That working group is at present directing its attention to an examination of criminal jurisdiction, including the jurisdiction of the Central Criminal Court.
