Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire (Cork South Central, Sinn Fein)
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345. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the average length of time for a case to be heard before the Special Criminal Court from the point at which a person is charged; and the way in which this compares with the Central Criminal Court and the Circuit Criminal Courts. [39756/17]

Charles Flanagan (Laois, 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, which include the provision of information on the courts system.

However, in order to be of assistance to the Deputy, I have had enquiries made and the Courts Service has informed me that the Courts Service does not record a case from the charge date but from the date a case is lodged in court. Waiting time is defined as the time between court offices being notified that a case is ready to proceed to trial and the actual date for the hearing of a trial.

The Courts Service has also informed me that the current average waiting time in the Special Criminal Courts is 12.5 months, which is a significant reduction on the previous 24 months waiting time prior to the establishment of the Second Special Criminal Court which started hearing cases in May 2016.

I am advised that waiting time in the Central Criminal Court is being maintained at 11 months thanks to the continued assignment of a fifth Judge to the hearing of cases and that waiting times for criminal cases in the Circuit Criminal Courts vary across court venues in accordance with the level of court business in each circuit with an average waiting time of 6.5 months.

The Courts Service has also advised that delays in the hearing of cases can occur for a number of reasons, many of which are outside the control of the Courts and the Courts Service, for example, the unavailability of a witness or vital evidence, delays in the furnishing of reports or because the parties and/or legal practitioners are not ready to proceed on allocated dates. This gives rise to adjournments which can have an 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 allocation of judicial resources is a matter for the Presidents of the Courts who continue to arrange additional sittings where possible within the resources available to reduce delays in the hearing of cases. The Courts Service continues to work with the Presidents of the Courts to bring about improvements in the waiting times across the court jurisdictions.