Jonathan O'Brien (Cork North Central, Sinn Fein)
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Question 492: To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality the date on which a second judge will be appointed to Limerick District Court; the number of cases the court has dealt with over the past 12 months; the number of staff currently employed in this court; his plans to increase staffing levels to cope with demand for services in this court; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36236/11]

Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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I understand that the President of the District Court had hoped to provide an additional District Court judge to Limerick city to facilitate the sitting of a second court with effect from 1 November 2011. However, this was not possible due to a number of District Judge vacancies. A second District Court judge will be available from 28 November to 22 December 2011 subject to the availability of judicial resources. The position which will apply in 2012 is under review by the President of the District Court and the Courts Service.

The Courts Service has informed me that, at present, there are 17 staff in the District Court Office in Limerick. The Service is committed to maintaining the level of support required to ensure that courts sit as scheduled. The issue of staff and other resources is kept under constant review. The Public Service Agreement Action Plan for the Courts Service includes the introduction of unified multi-jurisdictional offices in each county which will introduce efficiencies and help alleviate the difficulties which will arise through staff retirements etc.

The case load managed by the Limerick District Court in 2010, the latest year for which figures are available, is set out in the table.

Case Count