Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)

The working group on a court of appeal recommended in 2008 that a court of appeal be established by way of constitutional amendment. While the Court of Criminal Appeal has existed under legislation since 1961, the group strongly recommended a combined appellate court, encompassing both criminal and civil cases, should be established under the Constitution. There is a commitment in the programme for Government to establish a court of appeal and the group's recommendations are being examined in that context. The current Chief Justice, Mrs. Justice Denham, chaired the working group and I note and welcome her recent comments on this subject. It is my intention to bring forward recommendations to the Government in this regard as soon as possible.

The Deputy will appreciate that in the current economic climate I have an obligation to ensure an approach to implementation which will minimise the net additional costs, having regard to the economic and financial benefit of a more timely conclusion of litigation. The objective is to bring forward a more streamlined and less costly solution rather than the simple provision of another judicial layer. It is my intention to finalise examination of the detail and to progress the matter at the earliest opportunity.

A decision remains to be taken by the Government as to when such a referendum will take place in the context of other referenda. However, I do not anticipate the holding of a referendum on a court of appeal will arise before 2013, not least because more public engagement and debate will be essential and two referenda are already scheduled for this year.

Regarding Supreme Court delays, as the Deputy will be aware, the allocation of court business is a matter for the Judiciary. I understand, however, that the Chief Justice has taken a number of measures to address the waiting time for appeals in the Supreme Court, which currently stands at 36 months for ordinary cases. I am informed that the list is under constant review and actively managed by the Chief Justice to prioritise those appeals that necessitate expedited hearings. The court has on occasion sat in two Benches to deal with cost-related appeals as well as short appeals. The Deputy will appreciate a careful balance is needed between time allocated to court sittings compared with producing judgments and I am advised that a recent review of the reserved judgments list is also proving effective.

The Government moved quickly to fill the vacancies arising from recent retirements from the Supreme Court and the nominees will be formally appointed by the President later this week. It should also be noted that sanction has recently been granted by the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform for four new judicial fellow posts attached to the Supreme Court and Court of Criminal Appeal, who will provide list management and research functions in order to speed up the courts' throughput further.

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