New Courts Service figures show it is not receiving adequate State funding to employ the number of staff it needs to ensure the “effective administration of justice”, a TD has said.
According to figures provided by the Courts Service, in response to a parliamentary question from Dublin Green Party TD Patrick Costello, it has 1,285 full-time employees, 91 vacancies, and 63 employees fewer than what should be its target workforce.
“We do not invest in the effective administration of justice, we do not invest enough in ensuring the courts work for citizens,” Mr Costello said.
Delays in various court offices, including the High Court central office, and the Probate Office, are continuing and there are insufficient numbers of translators for court proceedings, he said.
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The High Court central office still operates under Covid-19 restrictions and its requirement for appointments is causing unnecessary delays and is very frustrating for people trying to get urgent applications heard, he said.
The Government, in line with the recommendations of the report of the Judicial Planning Working Group, has approved the appointment of more judges over the coming years, with corresponding requirements for more registrars and other court staff, he noted.
“It is very frustrating that the Department of Justice is not willing to invest in the administration of justice for the ordinary citizen, this is an access to justice issue.”
In his parliamentary question to the Minister for Justice, the TD asked about current staffing in the Courts Service, current vacant positions and the total target workforce.
The response, provided on July 11th last from Courts Service chief executive Angela Denning, stated the service had 1,285 full-time employees at the end of June 2024.
“Our target workforce should be 1,348 but the Courts Service is not funded for this amount of staff,” she wrote. “It is funded for an FTE [full-time employees] of between 1,250 and 1,260.”
To contain its payroll costs, the FTE is “being carefully managed” and will reduce to about 1,270, she wrote.
The service, she added, has a ceiling of 1,320 full-time employees as per the October 2024 budget vote.
Asked about Mr Costello’s comments, a Courts Service spokesman said funding for it, including staffing, is provided through the annual estimates process.
“Work is under way to prepare for negotiations in advance of Budget 2025,” said the spokesman.
Meanwhile, criminal barristers are due to strike again on Wednesday in a dispute over fees. They have already withdrawn their services for two days earlier this month. The barristers are seeking the unwinding of all recession-era cuts still applicable to them and a mechanism to determine fees paid by the Director of Public Prosecutions and under the criminal legal aid scheme.
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