Audio recording facilities in Irish courts to be upgraded

Digital audio recording (DAR) facilities in the Irish courts are set to be upgraded by the end of 2018, Justice Minister Frances Fitzgerald has said.

Digital audio recording was introduced in the Supreme Court in 2005 and was fully rolled out across all jurisdictions by 2011.

But refinements in DAR technology led the Government to appoint a service provider in July 2016 to provide a “technology refresh”, bringing both hardware and software up-to-date.

Answering a question in the Dáil, Ms Fitzgerald said: “All recording units in court will be replaced with new PCs and the latest version of recording, playback and note-taking software over the next two years.

“This process commenced in December 2016, with new systems installed in the Criminal Courts of Justice and the Four Courts, and will be completed in 2018.”