Departmental Data

Tuesday, 23 June 2026

Ceisteanna (562)

Ivana Bacik

Ceist:

562. Deputy Ivana Bacik asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration further to Parliamentary Questions No’s. 635, 636, 637, 638, 639 and 640 of 6 May 2026, with respect to the review of 350,000 District Court cases which took place between 2022 and 2023, if his Department collated or maintains data on the reasons for adjournment or the demographics of accused persons in the cases assessed, and the persons' ages, in particular; the methodology used to analyse and weight the reasons for adjournment as part of the review; the proportion of adjournments; the reasons for which, were in whole or in part statutorily required; the reasons for adjournments in the period studied, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [47819/26]

Amharc ar fhreagra

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration

As part of the programme of reform of criminal legal aid, my Department reviewed more than 350,000 District Court cases from 2022 and 2023. It is worth noting that while criminal case volumes in the District Court have decreased, expenditure on criminal legal aid in the District Court has nearly doubled, from €19 million in 2015 to €37 million in 2024.

The review of District Court cases identified specific structural issues in the administration of criminal legal aid, namely:

• Payment per appearance which incentivises additional adjournments

• Multiple certificates granted for related cases increase costs and complexity

• Multiple solicitors assigned in the same firm for related charges

• A highly complex payment processing system creating a significant administrative burden.

The review also found:

• Cases with criminal legal aid take an average of 313 calendar days to complete, compared to 133 days for cases without

• The weighted average appearances for cases with Criminal Legal Aid is 5, while the weighted average appearances without Criminal Legal Aid is just over 3

• While cases with Criminal Legal Aid take significantly longer than those without, the outcomes are similar.

As the Deputy will appreciate, while the findings of the Review have been shared with the professional bodies, the data analysed contains personal information and therefore the Department is not in a position to publish that information.

Question No. 563 answered with Question No. 539.