Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 24 March 2021
1242. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Justice the number of Circuit Court personal injury proceedings initiated in each of the years 2010 to 2020 and to date in 2021, by county in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [14801/21]
View answer1243. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Justice the number of Circuit Court personal injury proceedings which were initiated in each of the years 2010 to 2020 and to date in 2021, by county in tabular form; the locations in which cases have yet to be determined and are active; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [14802/21]
View answer1244. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Justice the number of Circuit Court civil proceedings initiated in each of the years 2010 to 2020 and to date in 2021, by county in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [14803/21]
View answer1245. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Justice the number of Circuit Court civil proceedings which were initiated in each of the years 2010 to 2020 and to date in 2021, by county in tabular form; the locations in which cases have yet to be determined and are active; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [14804/21]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 1242 to 1245, inclusive, together.
Under the provisions of the Courts Service Act 1998, management of the courts is the responsibility of the Courts Service, which is independent in exercising its functions, which include the provision of information on the courts system.
However, in order to be of assistance to the Deputy, I have had enquiries made and the Courts Service has provided statistics on the number of new Civil Cases lodged and dealt with and the number of Personal Injury cases lodged and dealt with in the Circuit Court for the period 2015-2019 by county. This information can be found in the tables below.
The Courts Service has informed me that it is not in a position to provide the information sought by the Deputy in relation to statistical data for 2010-2014, due to the fact that the Courts Service reporting system changed in 2014, and therefore only statistical data from 2015 is available with regard to the information sought.
The Courts Service has also informed me that it is not in a position to provide the information sought by the Deputy in relation to statistical data for 2020-2021 as it is currently compiling data for last year. The Courts Service has also said that it is not possible to report on the locations in which cases have yet to be determined and are active.
The Deputy will also be aware that the Judicial Council Act 2019 provides, inter alia, for the establishment of a Personal Injuries Guidelines Committee. Last October, the Government amended the Judicial Council Act 2019, to ensure that the personal injuries guidelines would be adopted and published by, at the latest, 31 July 2021, three months earlier than originally required under the Act.
Draft Guidelines were furnished to the Board of the Judicial Council last December and, following consideration, were adopted by the Judicial Council on 6 March 2021 and published.
On 9 March, I secured Cabinet approval to amend the Judicial Council Act 2019 and the Personal Injuries Assessment Board Act 2003 to bring the new Personal Injuries Guidelines into effect. Bringing the new Personal Injuries Guidelines into operation is a key action in my Justice Plan 2021, and I intend that the Guidelines will take effect in April.
In addition to the adoption and publication of the personal injury guidelines, my Department is developing proposals in relation to:
- the Occupiers' Liability Act 1995,
- the discount rate applied to awards in cases of catastrophic injury, and
- the Law Reform Commission Report on the Capping Damages in Personal Injury Actions.
