Court delays are undermining the entire justice system, claims TD
Court delays are undermining the entire justice system, according to Deputy Matt Carthy.
The Sinn Féin spokesperson on Justice, Home Affairs and Migration, made his comments in light of this week's publication of the inaugural 'Justice Indicators' report compiled by the Law Society.
Included in the report are statistics on how long it takes for cases to conclude, and it reveals it takes over 500 days on average.
Deputy Carthy described the report as “important and welcome“.
“There is a clear need for better data in terms of our justice system and the courts.
“For a long time, we have heard from victims and their families about the impact of delays in the courts. Particularly for those trying to rebuild their lives after violent crime or sexual crimes, court delays can further add to their trauma. There have been many cases that have dragged on for years where victims are forced to put their whole lives on hold while the court case dragged on. These delays are undermining the entire justice system.
“This report highlights that there is a very significant problem with court delays. The Justice Indicators report finds that the average case disposal time of 541 days in 2020 was more than three times the European average.
“The current level of delays in the Irish courts are simply not acceptable, especially in respect of criminal proceedings. The average length of criminal proceedings in 2019 was 504 days. In 2024, the average length was 503 days. This was a reduction of just one day over five years.
“The average times in 2024 in the Circuit Court for Criminal matters was 627 days and the Central Criminal Court was even worse at an average 691 days. As these are average figures, many cases take even longer than this."
Deputy Carthy noted how the report highlights that the Irish courts cleared fewer cases than the number of new cases initiated each year from 2019 to 2024, resulting in a growing backlog of unresolved cases each year.
“In addition to making the judicial process more difficult for victims and their families, delays in criminal proceedings contribute to the high number of crimes committed by those on bail and the numbers of those held on remand. All of this contributes to the dysfunction in our justice system," he said.
The Cavan-Monaghan TD urged the Minister for Justice to act on the recommendations in the report, including requiring the Courts Service to record and publish the average length of court proceedings for all courts and record and publish the extent of the case backlog at each court level on an annual basis.
"The courts must be properly resourced so that we have justice system that processes cases in a timely manner and that better supports victims, families and those seeking justice. This is not just about more judges, it is about the overall staffing and resourcing of our courts system.”