The independence of Ireland’s prosecution service is “a real strength” which must be protected, the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) has said.
Independence does not mean immunity from public scrutiny, and the DPP’s office “can listen to feedback and criticism but retain our balance and objectivity”, the director, Catherine Pierse, said.
She was addressing the annual prosecutors conference in Dublin on Saturday, held in the wake of some criticism of the DPP’s decision in 2020 not to prosecute mixed martial arts fighter Conor McGregor on foot of an allegation by Nikita Hand that he raped her in a Dublin hotel on December 9th, 2018.
In its verdict last week on a civil action by Ms Hand, a High Court jury awarded her €248,603 damages after finding Mr McGregor raped her.
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In her address, Ms Pierse said when there is a decision not to prosecute, victims are entitled to reasons and a review of that decision but the public do not get access to the details of the evidence or the reasoning either on decision to prosecute or not to prosecute.
The “good policy reasons” for this include protection of the principle of innocent until proven guilty. For those reasons, she, as the DPP, did not comment publicly on individual cases.
The director signalled support for criminal barristers seeking further reversal of recession-era cuts to criminal legal aid payments.
Her office has “engaged extensively” concerning counsel fee restoration, she said. While welcoming the government decision to restore payments by an additional 8 per cent from January 1st, 2025, she wanted “to underline again the importance of ensuring that current rates of payment are sufficient to attract and retain people to work in criminal law”.
There is a need to look at the way counsel fees are structured so that early engagement with a case is incentivised and rewarded, she added.
Ms Pierse said significant increases in the number of court dates over the past four years presents challenges for her office.
From 2019-2023, there was a 149 per cent increase in the number of court dates in the Central Criminal Court, coinciding with the number of judges assigned to that court being more than doubled. There was also a “significant” increase in Circuit Court activity in most parts of the country.
The level of Central Criminal Court cases outside Dublin presented a “particular challenge”, she said, noting those had risen from 127 in 2019 to 517 at the end of 2023, a 407 per cent increase over four years.
Much progress has been made in the criminal justice system over the past 10 years but the challenges ahead include making the system more efficient and improving the overall experience of users, the director said.
Victims, witnesses and accused people are all affected by “excessive” delays in progressing cases from complaint to finalisation, she said.
A UCD report concerning the processing of sexual offences here can be applied more widely, Ms Pierse said. It identified possible reasons for delays, including the need for greater investment in the criminal justice system and challenges in managing large volumes of disclosure.
A new juvenile protocol aimed at reducing delays in bringing serious rape and murder cases involving children from complaint to finalisation is a good example of the value of collaboration between the judiciary, gardaí, barristers and her office, the director said.
There is work to be done to ensure a defendant is clear about the advantages of pleading early to an offence, she said. To facilitate early pleas, it is “essential” the prosecution fulfil its disclosure obligations as early as possible.
A recent Supreme Court judgment brought more clarity concerning the disclosure obligations of all parties and rejected the notion that disclosure of counselling notes in sexual offence cases was required on the basis that material is remotely or potentially relevant, she said.
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