Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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503. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the median length of time for cases to be heard in the District Court by district and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35676/17]

Charles Flanagan (Laois, Fine Gael)
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As the Deputy may be aware, under the provisions of the Courts Service Act 1998, management of the courts is the responsibility of the Courts Service and I have no role in the matter. Section 4(3) of the 1998 Act provides that the Courts Service is independent in the performance of its functions, which includes the provision of information on the courts system.

However, in order to be of assistance to the Deputy, I have made enquiries and the Courts Service has informed me that they are not in a position to provide the data sought by the Deputy as the Courts Service does not record the length of time it takes for cases to be heard in the District Court. The Deputy will be aware that the Courts Service Annual Report contains a lot of statistical information, including number of cases received in the District Court and the disposal rate of cases which may be of some assistance.