Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 10 October 2013
160. Deputy Terence Flanagan asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the number of judges appointed to each court and the total hours the courts sit for annually; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42889/13]
View answerThe Supreme Court consists of the Chief Justice and seven ordinary judges. In addition, the Government recently nominated two additional Supreme Court judges and they are due to be appointed shortly. The High Court consists of the President and thirty four ordinary judges. The Circuit Court consists of a President , thirty-six ordinary judges and six specialist judges who were recently appointed to deal with the new work arising as a result of the Personal Insolvency Act 2012. The District Court consists of a President and sixty two ordinary judges.
As the Deputy will be aware, the management and administration of the courts is a matter for the Courts Service. The allocation of the business of the courts, scheduling of court cases and the management of court lists are matters for the judiciary and the Presidents of the courts. The sittings and vacations of the courts are currently provided for in Rules of Court. The Presidents of the respective courts can and do, on occasion, schedule additional sittings to address particular issues. In addition to the scheduled sittings High Court judges are at all times available to hear urgent applications outside of regular business hours. In order to guarantee access to justice when required as a matter of urgency, this includes late evening and night time sittings as well as regular sittings at weekends and during any court recess.
