Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Thursday, 24 Feb 1994

Vol. 439 No. 4

Written Answers. - Circuit Court Delays.

Paul Connaughton

Ceist:

118 Mr. Connaughton asked the Minister for Justice if her attention has been drawn to the delay in having cases heard in the Circuit Court, Galway; if her attention has been further drawn to the fact that some cases may take up to two years to be heard; the number of cases currently listed; the timescale for such cases to be heard; the steps, if any, she plans to take to eliminate the unacceptable delays; if she will consider the appointment of another judge to help clear the backlog; and if she will make a statement on the matter.

Minister for Justice (Mrs. Geoghegan-Quinn)

I am very much aware of and very concerned by delays in the hearing of civil cases in the Circuit Court in Galway and in a number of other venues throughout the country.

A review of the activity levels in the courts, to assess the impact of the altered civil jurisdiction of the courts under the Courts Act, 1991 has been completed in any Department. The results of this review are under examination at present and I hope to be in a position to make recommendations to the Government on the allocation of resources including judicial resources in the courts shortly.

With regard to the assignment of judges the position is that this is a matter for the President of the Circuit Court who, I understand assigns an additional judge to Galway Circuit Court, when possible, to assist in the hearing of cases. I further understand that an additional judge is being assigned to Galway for two weeks at the next sitting of Galway Circuit Court.