Mr. Dara Hayes:

The Bar of Ireland agrees with what most of the parties have said in relation to resources, particularly judicial resources. Delay is not the only issue that affects victims who go through the courts system but it is important. We have included in our submission the impact delays can have on victims, witnesses and anybody involved in the trial. It is important to do as much as possible to ameliorate that.

The problem is that the delay pre-existed Covid-19. The delays in Dublin Circuit Court before Covid-19 were in the region of 15 to 18 months. It now takes approximately two years before a case comes to the Circuit Court, assuming everything goes smoothly. An issue with later disclosure can knock that back by several months.

Ms Lewis referred to a statement in the O'Malley report that extra judges were not needed. This is one of the few things we disagree with in the O'Malley report. Additional judges are needed at all levels. The Bar organised a conference on Friday on the effects of Covid-19 at which the President of the High Court, Ms Justice Irvine, spoke. She indicated she had called for an additional 15 to 20 High Court judges for all matters because of the increase in work and the impact of Covid-19. The Bar of Ireland agrees with that and it is important that as much as possible is done to reduce delays in the system.

If a case were to come before the courts, with the offence having been committed today, there would be a Garda investigation. Even if the investigation were brief, it would be a number of months before it got to the courts. It would be two years thereafter before it got to trial. Even with everything running smoothly, it will take the best part of three years from the date of the offence to the date of the trial. That time should be substantially shorter. I apologise if I went on a little too long. I thank members for their patience.