Five times as many High Court non-jury cases will be heard outside Dublin than in the Four Courts this legal term, the Courts Service has revealed.
Twenty-four non-jury cases were fixed for full hearing in Dublin courtrooms this legal term while 140 cases have been fixed for county town venues - all taken from the ordinary central lists. These cases would otherwise have remained without a hearing date, according to a spokesman for the Courts Service.
Traditionally, the High Court heard just personal injury and Circuit Court appeals outside of Dublin. In recent years business was extended to Central Criminal Court hearings of murder and rape cases at regional venues.
The latest expansion means that debt recovery, contract disputes and other non-jury matters will be heard in fine facilities, in shorter time periods.
In recent years the number of High Court judges has increased significantly, making it possible for the President of the High Court and the Courts Service to bring extra High Court business to provincial towns and county capitals. The refurbishment of courthouses in these towns means that High Court business can now be dealt there easily.
"While it is difficult to estimate how many new cases will come into the High Court list this year, at the current pace all existing cases that are ready for hearing in this category will have had a hearing date in a courthouse across the country by the year's end," the spokesman said.
High Court sittings are planned for Castlebar, Dundalk, Galway, Cork, Tullamore and Tralee between now and May.
Extra sittings have also been arranged to deal with backlogs of Circuit Court appeals in some of the above regions, he said. Dundalk will be used almost every day between now and the end of July.