Colm Burke (Cork North Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

As someone who has worked in the District Court on the criminal side, albeit not a huge amount, in fairness, each court may approach the issue in a different way. If someone comes in to have a case withdrawn, the judge may look for reasons, so it can depend on the way in which it is approached. It is something that could arise, for instance, where a judge raises a technical issue and the Garda will withdraw the offence on the basis of coming back again because it does not have sufficient evidence. There are various reasons cases are withdrawn.

I am not clear that there is a huge volume of cases withdrawn, but I could be wrong on that. It could be a simple case, for instance, that the garda involved is not available to give evidence, or another similar issue could arise. It can be complex in some cases, and sometimes sufficient reason is not given. For example, a judge could decide that because the case has been adjourned on a number of occasions, he will not allow further adjournment and the case is either dealt with or it is taken off the list.

It is complex at times. Maybe we could gather some further information on the number of cases that are withdrawn without explanation. Maybe it is something that should be looked at.