Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Thursday, 13 Apr 2000

Vol. 518 No. 2

Written Answers. - Family Law Courts.

David Stanton

Ceist:

125 Mr. Stanton asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the number of cases awaiting adjudication before the family law courts; the further resources, if any, he will make available to these courts and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11250/00]

Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform (Mr. O'Donoghue)

I am informed by the Courts Service that as the Circuit Courts are in session at present, any statistics immediately available on the number of family law cases awaiting hearing are out of date and would no longer reflect the true position in relation to the number of cases currently awaiting hearing before the Circuit Courts. However, in order to provide the Deputy with the most up-to-date information possible, I have arranged for the Courts Service to forward to the Deputy, as soon as possible, statistics on the number of cases awaiting hearing as at the end of the current legal term – end of April.

While current statistics on the number of cases in hand are not available, I am pleased to able to inform the Deputy that delays in hearing family law cases have been significantly reduced and in the majority of circuits any case in which both parties are ready to proceed will be listed for hearing at the next sittings of the Circuit Court. In the Dublin Circuit Court there is no delay in dealing with consent applications for judicial separation, divorce or nullity and there is an approximate five month waiting period for hearing contested cases.

Family law cases before the High Court which are ready for hearing are currently being given dates for the Easter and Trinity terms, that is, up to 31 July. There are currently 56 cases which are not ready to proceed to full hearing on the list of the Master of the High Court.

There is no significant delay in the hearing of family law cases in the District Court.

The Courts Service is currently reviewing delays in the hearing of court cases, the manner in which cases are listed for court and the resources available to deal with same, with a view to introducing a case tracking system for monitoring cases' progression through the courts system and targeting resources at areas which need them most.

In terms of resources, the Government is fully committed to providing the appropriate level of funding to ensure that the Courts Service provides the optimum service for the public in all areas, including family law. In that context, it should be noted that in the current year the budgetary provision for the courts is £59 million, up 24% on 1999.