Dramatic rise in serious assault cases before courts

THE number of serious assault cases coming before the High Court increased by almost 400% last year to 1,218 cases.

The annual report of the Courts Service published yesterday not only revealed a startling rise in the level of serious assault cases, but also that those accused of such serious crimes wait an average of 16 months before their case comes to trial.

The 2001 report found that parties involved in prosecutions coming before the Central Criminal Court faced lengthy delays. Legal sources indicated that waiting times for the court, which deals with murder, rape and serious sexual assault cases, are still as bad this year.

Reasons for the delay include a 15% rise in the number of civil and criminal matters dealt with by all courts to 750,000 cases, with the Special Criminal Court and the Court of Criminal Appeal also coming under pressure and having a backlog of cases. Delays in both court divisions average around 10-16 months.

The rise in the number of such cases to 13,700 is attributed to an overall increase in crime as well as a greater number of appeals from the District Court and a larger number of Garda files being sent to the Director of Public Prosecutions.

"A quadrupling of High Court cases alleging assault and a 15-fold increase in the number alleging negligence are a reflection of the number who are alleging physical, emotional and sexual abuse in institutions," said Ms Justice Susan Denham, chairperson of the Courts Service Board.

The report also shows a 50% increase in criminal matters coming before the Circuit Court in a 12-month period.

Only three people involved in the 33 murder cases last year were acquitted. The majority of people convicted for rape in 2001 received a prison sentence of between five and 10 years.

The report also highlights a significant increase in the number of applications for barring and protection orders. A total of 12,795 such orders were sought last year an increase of almost 1,000 cases on 2000.

A study of average waiting times among the country's 26 Circuit Courts shows that cases in Cork face the worst delays. Parties involved in civil cases in Cork must wait an average of 18-24 months for a trial to come to hearing.

Other courts with longer than average delays are Clonmel, Kilkenny, Monaghan and Sligo.

The Courts Service reports also shows that holidays continue to account for the largest single section of complaints brought before the Small Claims Court.

The Office of the Taxing Master reduced overall legal bills by 10.3 million euro in 2001. The Court Service collected a total of 29m euro in fees and fines last year.