Divorce courts need more judges
This has been the experience of 2,214 couples outside Dublin to date who have been unfortunate enough to seek divorces in five of the worst blackspots.
The Law Society survey of 26 circuit court offices nationwide has revealed that the worst places to seek a contested divorce are Wexford, Cork, Clonmel, Naas and Waterford.
Here couples have to wait the standard six months to secure a trial date and after that they wait anything between nine to 18 months for a court hearing. Couples in Sligo, Ennis, Kilkenny and Tralee have to wait up to a year to get a court hearing.
The main cause of the delay is a severe shortage of judges outside Dublin, according to family law expert Muriel Walls.
As chairperson of the Law Society’s Family Law and Civil Legal Committee, Muriel Walls commissioned this survey to get a clearer picture of where the worst delays existed. Couples seeking divorces in Dublin have no problem and can have their cases heard within eight weeks because there are three judges full-time on family law cases.
Outside the capital, most divorce cases are heard in circuit courts that do not sit year round and judges only hear family law cases on certain dates.
The Law Society believes that one way to solve these serious backlogs would be to appoint a roving judge. The Law Reform Commission has also recommended that regional family courts should be set up to deal with divorce cases separately.
The Department of Justice is not of the same view. Their spokesman says there is no vacancy at the moment for extra circuit court judges.
The High Court which only hears divorce case where there are large sums of money involved has received three new judges in the past year to replace those who are now sitting in tribunals, but the Department says that it is up to the respective Circuit Court and High Court presidents to decide how their resources are allocated. What a lovely piece of buck-passing.
This is not an administrative problem. No matter how the court presidents juggle resources they will come back to the same problem - a severe shortage of judges. The buck with this one stops firmly with Justice Minister Michael McDowell. He appoints judges and he is the one who must sort this one out.
The Court Services Board which manages the courts system is undergoing a major refurbishment programme which will see all court houses upgraded within two years.
A board spokesman says their goal is to maintain the privacy and dignity of everyone seeking redress in the courts - particularly in family law cases.
It is a pity the same resources and commitment is not being put into securing more judges.
