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Courts Service Data

Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 23 May 2018

Wednesday, 23 May 2018

Ceisteanna (103, 114)

Robert Troy

Ceist:

103. Deputy Robert Troy asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the average waiting time to have cases brought before all courts in each of the past three years in tabular form. [22790/18]

Amharc ar fhreagra

Bernard Durkan

Ceist:

114. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the extent to which an adequate number of judges are being appointed to the various courts in order to minimise delays; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22827/18]

Amharc ar fhreagra

Freagraí scríofa

I propose to take Questions Nos. 103 and 114 together.

As the Deputy will be aware, 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. Furthermore, the scheduling of court cases and the allocation of court business is a matter for the Presidents of the Courts and the presiding judges who are, under the Constitution, independent in the exercise of their judicial functions.  

However, in order to be of assistance to the Deputy, I have had enquiries made and the Courts Service has advised that, in general, waiting times are being maintained or reduced across jurisdictions. The Presidents of the Courts keep waiting times under ongoing review. The Courts Service continues to work with the Presidents and the judiciary to improve waiting times and, where specific issues are identified, resources are targeted at areas of greatest need. Additional sittings are arranged where necessary and possible within resources available.

The Courts Service has further advised that delays in the hearing of cases can occur for a number of reasons, many of which are outside the control of the Courts and the Courts Service, for example, the unavailability of a witness or vital evidence, delays in the furnishing of reports or because the parties and/or legal practitioners are not ready to proceed on allocated dates. This gives rise to adjournments which can have a major impact on the time taken to complete the hearing of a case and on the number of cases which can be disposed of in a court sitting. Increased volumes of cases coming before the courts, increased complexity of cases, leading to longer hearing times, and new areas of litigation can also impact on waiting times. 

Tables outlining the waiting times in each court at December 2015, 2016 and 2017 can be found at the link at the end of this reply. The Courts Service has informed me that waiting times refer to the time taken from when a case is indicated as ready to proceed and it coming before the court. The average waiting times for the various courts for 2015 and 2016 are provided in the Courts Service Annual Reports and the average waiting times for 2017 will be published in the 2017 Annual Report.

As the Deputy will be aware, judicial appointments are made by the President acting on the advice of the Government in accordance with articles 13.9 and 35.1 of the Constitution. The following number of judicial appointments have been made since 2015 to fill vacancies and implement legislative changes to judicial numbers:

2015 - 15

2016 - 11

2017 - 16

2018 to date - 5

The Government endeavours to ensure that all judicial vacancies at all jurisdictional levels are filled as quickly as possible. Judicial resources available to the courts are kept under ongoing review and applications for additional judicial resources from the Chief Justice and the Presidents of the Courts are fully considered to ensure that the courts have adequate judicial resources.

Furthermore, as the Deputy may be aware, a Group to review the administration of civil justice in the State, chaired by the President of the High Court Mr. Justice Peter Kelly, was established in 2017. This Group is to report to me within two years, and will make recommendations for changes with a view to improving access to civil justice in the State, promoting early resolution of disputes, reducing the cost of litigation, creating a more responsive and proportionate system and ensuring better outcomes for court.

Average Waiting Time

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