Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Thursday, 8 Jun 2000

Vol. 520 No. 5

Written Answers. - Divorce Applications.

David Stanton

Ceist:

159 Mr. Stanton asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform if, further to Parliamentary Question No. 125 of 13 April 2000, he will outline the reason the numbers awaiting hearings for divorce applications, judicial separations and nullity in the Cork area are significantly greater than the rest of the country; the number of such cases adjudicated for each of the past three years in the various Circuit Court areas in the State; the action, if any, he will take to deal with the large number of cases in the Cork area; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16265/00]

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

I have been informed by the Courts Service that the figures which were furnished to the Deputy arising out of the reply to Parliamentary Question No. 125 of 13 April 2000 relate to all applications received by the court which have yet to go to hearing. I am further informed that delays in such cases arise in a number of different ways, most of which are beyond the control of the court.

In respect of the Cork area, the figures for cases for which a notice of trial has been lodged, that is, cases in which parties state that they are ready to go to hearing are as follows: judicial separation, 96; divorce, 63; nullity, 28.

I can also inform the Deputy that there is no delay in hearing consent applications and approximately 30 consent applications are dealt with per month.

I have arranged for the Courts Service to forward to the Deputy, as soon as possible, up to date tables showing the number of divorce, judicial separation and nullity cases determined by the courts, throughout the country, in the last three years.

The Courts Service is currently reviewing delays in the hearing of court cases, the manner 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 to 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 to 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.