Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Independent)
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Question 196: To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality if, in view of the increased activity in the Courts Service, in areas such as judgment and the sheriff's area generally, he is satisfied that there are adequate resources to deal in a timely way with cases; if there are parts of the country that are under more pressure than others; if so, his plans to address same; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25358/11]

Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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The execution of all court orders is a matter for the Sheriffs in accordance with the provisions of the Enforcement of Court Orders Act,1926, as amended. However, in order to be of assistance to the Deputy, I have had enquiries made and the Courts Service has informed me that there was a 9% increase in the number of execution orders lodged with Sheriffs' offices throughout the country in 2010 and this trend appears to have continued into 2011. The Sheriff is assisted in the task of executing the orders by Court Messengers. The Courts Service has informed me that there are currently three vacancies for Court Messengers in Wexford, Cavan and Roscommon whose work is currently being undertaken by messengers in adjacent counties.

Following a request from the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform for a review of the role of the Court Messenger, the Courts Service is currently undertaking this review in consultation with Sheriffs and it is expected that the review will be completed in the next two months. The Courts Service has indicated that there are delays in some counties because of the increased volumes being received but these are being dealt with as quickly as possible in the context of the resources available.