Delays of up to 18 months in family law cases, including separations, will be reduced to four months to reduce the "traumatic experience" of those involved, the Minister for Justice, Mrs Owen, has said.
Mrs Owen was speaking yesterday at the opening of three new courts in the Riverbank Courthouse, Dublin, which has been built at a cost of £500,000 on the site of the former Riverbank Theatre, across the Liffey from the Four Courts on Merchants Quay. She said the reduction in the delays in hearing family law cases was important because of the increase in divorce cases which are beginning to come to court.
New courthouses would also have suites for families to help reduce the trauma of court appearances, she said. The increase in the number of circuit courts would also cut delays of up to two years in hearing cases to as little as six weeks.