Extra judges in bid to clear court case backlog

FROM October, four full-time judges will hear murder and rape cases in an effort to clear an 18-month backlog at the Central Criminal Court in Dublin.

Mr Justice Paul Carney has been the only senior full-time judge at the country's highest criminal court, despite more than a murder a week in Ireland.

The murder rate has nearly trebled in 21 years from 23 in 1980 to 58 killings in 2001.