Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees
Wednesday, 9 July 2025
Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation, and Taoiseach
Estimates for Public Services 2025
Vote 1 - President's Establishment (Revised)
Vote 2 - Department of the Taoiseach (Revised)
Vote 3 - Office of the Attorney General (Revised)
Vote 4 - Central Statistics Office (Revised)
Vote 5 - Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (Revised)
Vote 6 - Office of the Chief State Solicitor (Revised)
2:00 am
Colm Burke (Cork North-Central, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Taoiseach for making time available to be with us this evening. With regard to the DPP budget, I see there is a 177% increase in the number of court dates in the Central Criminal Court. There is the fact that in 2019, there were 127 court dates in the Central Criminal Court and by 2024, those outside the Central Criminal Court were up by 572%; in other words, it was outside of the Dublin base. The biggest problem with the creation of efficiencies in the courts is how our Prison Service adapts to that. In fairness to the DPP, all of the State solicitors and the gardaí, it is a really efficient organisation but the end result is our prison system not being able to adapt accordingly. I wonder if that is a concern, if we continue to increase the efficiency. The briefing we have got here shows the increase in the number of staff in the DPP. The problem is the logjam that results with regard to the Prison Service. I wonder if there is co-ordination in dealing with that.