Frances Fitzgerald welcomes criminal justice system report

Justice Minister Frances Fitzgerald has welcomed a “very encouraging” report from the Working Group on Efficiency Measures in the Criminal Justice System.

The group’s 2013-14 report outlines measures adopted across the criminal justice system to deliver greater efficiencies and cost reductions at District and Circuit Court level.

Ms Fitzgerald said the Government was “one of the most reforming in the history of the state when it comes to justice”.

A key recommendation in the report is the introduction of a “formal set of performance indicators” to allow for measurement of court efficiency.

Ms Fitzgerald said: “The Government and I are driving reform and innovation in order to deliver a more accessible and efficient justice system for the 21st Century.

“We want to ensure that citizens and businesses alike can access the Courts in a timely fashion and that justice can be delivered in criminal cases without unnecessary delay.

“This has the double benefit of reaffirming public confidence in the justice system and reducing legal costs which too often get inflated by lengthy court processes.

“The reforms being implemented under the remit of the Working Group are delivering real efficiencies in term of savings in personnel deployment across the system and better use of court time.”

According to the report, video link technology was used in 1,879 court cases in 2014.

Ms Fitzgerald said the use of the technology resulted in “reductions in prisoner movements and associated costs, savings on Garda attendance at court and more efficient use of court resources”.

She also confirmed her intention to legislate for the introduction of pre-trial hearings as part of the upcoming Criminal Procedures Bill.

She said: “The Criminal Procedures Bill will allow courts to put an end to the situation where a jury is empanelled and then put on hold for weeks while legal arguments are heard in their absence.

“Preliminary Trial Hearings will allow trial courts to settle a wide range of legal issues before a jury is called. Preliminary Trial Hearings will be most useful in complex white collar crime cases where a court has to decide on the admissibility of large amounts of technical and documentary evidence.”

Further Government plans for justice reform include the enactment of the Courts Bill, which will allow for the appointment of two further High Court judges, as well as the establishment of a dedicated Family Court system.