Jim O'Keeffe (Cork South West, Fine Gael)
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Question 105: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform when it is expected that there will be a general reform of the courts system in line with An Agreed Programme for Government Between Fianna Fáil and the Progressive Democrats 2002. [13189/07]

Michael McDowell (Dublin South East, Progressive Democrats)
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The reform of the courts system referred to in the Agreed Programme for Government is well underway. In this regard, I am happy to acknowledge the remarkable development of the courts system since the creation of the Courts Service less than ten years ago.

Notable achievements include the great progress in improving the overall stock of Courthouses around the country. Many of our county town courthouses have been refurbished and other major upgrading works have been completed in places such as Cork, Limerick, Dundalk and Castlebar. Approval has been given to the Court Service to proceed with nine "greenfield" court projects, by way of Public Private Partnership (PPP), as part of a new envelope of €50m for such projects. Construction will begin later this year on a new Criminal Courts Complex for Dublin, which will also be developed as a PPP project.

The increasing workload of the courts demand the provision of adequate judicial numbers. Since 2002, the number of judges sitting in the High, Circuit and District Courts has increased from 108 to 125, an increase of 17 judicial posts. In addition, the Courts and Court Officers (Amendment) Act 2007 provides for a further 14 judges — 6 Judges of the District Court, 4 ordinary Judges of the Circuit Court and 4 ordinary Judges of the High Court. I am confident that the additional judicial resources provided for in the new legislation will have a positive impact on delays and generally speed up the judicial process.

Another notable example of the ongoing reform of the courts was the establishment of the Commercial Division of the High Court, which has its own list based on a general value threshold of €1m. The scope of the commercial list includes business transactions of a very wide variety where the value of the claim is €1m or more. Also included are judicial review cases which relate to major commercial matters. Once entered, cases take 8-9 weeks to reach the hearing date, and are concluded in an average of 11 weeks.

I might also mention the important initiative to tackle the so-called compensation culture in the Civil Liability and Courts Act 2004 and the establishment of the Personal Injuries Assessment Board.

Specific mention is made in the Agreed Programme for Government to weekend and night courts. At present, the District Court in Dublin sits each Saturday and on Bank Holidays. Provincial District Courts sit outside of normal hours at weekends and at night to deal with emergency matters, as required. Experience of the operation of court sittings continues to be reviewed. This is being done in conjunction with legislative measures aimed at increasing the effectiveness of the courts.

The issue of merging the criminal jurisdiction of the Circuit Court and the Central Criminal Court was examined by the Working Group on the Jurisdiction of the Courts established by the Courts Service (the Fennelly Report). They recommended the retention of the Central Criminal Court and the Circuit Criminal Court as separate jurisdictions. There have been significant improvements in relation to delays in cases coming to trial in the Central Criminal Court. In 2003, the average waiting time for a trial in the Central Criminal Court was 18 months. Since then, the average waiting time has been halved and significantly, the Central Criminal Court now sits outside Dublin, where required. The issue will be kept under review in light of the changing circumstances.

Finally, I should add that a Group has been established to consider the question of a general Court of Appeal. The Group is reviewing and considering the necessity for a general Court of Appeal for the purposes of processing certain categories of appeals from the High Court. The Group will also make such other recommendations as are appropriate for the purposes of ensuring greater efficiencies in the practices and procedures of the Superior Courts.