Niamh Smyth (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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137. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality if her attention has been drawn to the increasing number of cases for hearing in Cavan District and Family Courts; the steps she will take to reduce the number of cases in a sitting in Cavan District Court; and her plans to employ an additional judge to help alleviate the cases waiting for hearing or to assign additional hearing dates. [24576/17]

Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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As the Deputy is aware, under the provisions of the Courts Service Act 1998, management of the courts is the responsibility of the Courts Service, which is independent in exercising its functions. Furthermore the scheduling of court cases and the allocation of court business are matters for the President of the District Court and the presiding judge who are, under the Constitution, independent in the exercise of their judicial functions.

However, in order to be of assistance to the Deputy, I have had enquiries made and the Courts Service has informed me that Cavan District Court currently sits 6 days per month for the transaction of District Court business and in 2016 it disposed of a total of 4,472 matters. The waiting times for the hearing of cases in Cavan District Court as at December 2016 which is the most recent information available were as follows:

Criminal summonses - 16 weeks

Charge Sheets - Next Sitting

Civil Business - 12 - 14 weeks

Family Law - 12 - 16 weeks (with exception of domestic violence applications which are heard at the next sitting of the Court)

The Courts Service has advised that delays in the hearing of cases can occur for reasons outside the direct control of the courts and the Courts Service and give rise to the adjournments which can have a major impact on the time taken to complete the hearing of a case and on the number of cases which can be disposed of in a court sitting.

The President of the District Court and presiding judges of the various Districts continually monitor waiting times and workload and work with the Courts Service to target judicial resources at areas with highest needs. In this regard, a total of 44 special sittings of Cavan District Court were supported in 2016 and there have been 10 special sittings of the District Court to date in 2017. The District Court also sits in Virginia, County Cavan and in 2015 and 2016 there were a total of 84 sittings of the District Court in Virginia and 17 special sittings of that court were also supported.