Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 6 March 2013
186. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the extent, if any, to which backlogs exists throughout the court system at all levels; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11904/13]
View answerAs the Deputy will be aware, under the Courts Service Act 1998, the management and administration of the courts is a matter for the Courts Service while the allocation of the business of the courts, scheduling of cases and management of lists are matters for the judiciary and in particular the Presidents of the courts. The Deputy will also be aware that judges are, subject to the Constitution and the law, independent in the exercise of their judicial functions.
However, in order to be of assistance to the Deputy, I have had enquiries made and the Courts Service has informed me that the primary objective for the Service is to maintain the delivery of front line court sittings and services. The Service continuously works to support the judiciary and assist in ensuring that cases are dealt with as effectively and as speedily as possible. Available resources and operational and organisational structures are under ongoing review to ensure that resources are targeted and focussed on keeping waiting times in the provision of services to a minimum.
Waiting times in the Circuit and District Courts vary from venue to venue based on the number and complexity of cases. The Presidents of the various courts are determined to achieve improvements in waiting times and they are working with the Courts Service to target judicial resources at the areas with longest waiting times. It should be noted, for example, that in 2011 there were 674 weeks of Circuit Court sittings in venues outside Dublin. This increased to 767 weeks in 2012 and the President of the Circuit Court plans to increase capacity to 888 weeks during 2013, a 30% increase over 2011. The additional weeks will be provided across crime, family law and civil matters. Arrangements are underway to appoint a small new cadre of specialist judges of the Circuit Court to deal with the new work arising as a result of the Personal Insolvency Act 2012. The President of the District Court is also concentrating judicial resources in the areas of greatest need and is currently considering the allocation of additional judicial resources to the hearing of Family Law cases to address delays in this area.
The President of the High Court keeps waiting times under continuous review and has introduced a number of initiatives such as reorganising sittings of the High Court outside Dublin and arranging for additional court sittings during court recesses to reduce waiting times. In addition, the delegation to court officials of administrative functions previously dealt with by High Court judges has increased judicial availability for trial work. These initiatives continue to be reviewed and expanded. While the waiting time for asylum pre-leave applications is high, the allocation of more judges and, particularly, more research support for judges has helped to reduce the waiting time for post-leave applications to its lowest level in over two years. The Courts Service has also advised that, despite significant pressure, the waiting times in the High Court lists have generally reduced considerably.
The Supreme Court, however, continues to experience lengthy waiting times which are now in excess of four years. Waiting times for priority cases are 9-12 months at present and the Chief Justice has directed that no new cases be admitted to the priority list unless it can be clearly demonstrated that it is an exceptional case where there are urgent grounds necessitating a priority hearing. Such urgent grounds would include appeals directly affecting the custody of an individual, child abduction, urgent family law matters, and appeals with urgent and systemic constitutional implications. Although considerable efforts are being made to manage the waiting times, the issue of capacity in the Supreme Court can only be fully resolved through the establishment of a Court of Appeal. I recently announced my intention to establish a Court of Appeal with both criminal and civil jurisdiction. The Government is committed to the holding of a Constitutional referendum on Article 34 which is necessary to achieve this and work has commenced in my Department in this regard. It is intended that the referendum will take place, together with at least one other referendum, in the autumn.
