Mr. Barry Donoghue:

The length of trials is largely a result of the increasing complexity of cases coming before the criminal courts. A murder case 20 or 30 years ago would have been a fairly short affair but now it may run for days and weeks because much new evidence may be introduced. There is the likes of closed-circuit television, forensic evidence and so forth. That is part of the reason.

With regard to procedure, we try to ensure disclosure is done as early as possible in cases. We have done that recently in order that information is disclosed to the defence at a much earlier stage than it may have been in the past. Additionally, the Department of Justice and Equality has examined the efficiency of the court system. I was a member of a group some time ago, which continued with the former chief prosecution solicitor and others, and it considered ways in which case management could be improved. Much good work was done in that regard. The Department of Justice and Equality proposed to introduce a procedure Bill allowing for the types of issues mentioned by the Deputy, namely, the question of exclusion of evidence and so forth, to be dealt with in advance of a trial. Part of the difficulty is that under the current system, the jury must be empanelled before proper legal issues may be determined by the trial judge. I know the criminal procedure Bill being considered by the Department will address that issue.