Couples must wait up to two years for divorce
The backlog, due to the shortage of judges, is forcing many estranged couples to live in the same house, making cases more difficult to settle. The survey of 26 circuit court offices outside of Dublin also found that conditions in some court houses are so bad that solicitors are often forced to discuss cases with clients in courthouse halls, on the street and even in the local pub. Muriel Walls, chairwoman of the Law Society's Family Law and Civil Legal Committee, said the delays and poor state of court houses were causing huge anxiety for many couples. "Divorce is traumatic enough, the least people should have are decent buildings to conduct their business properly," Ms Walls said.The survey found the worst delays were in Wexford, Cork, Clonmel, Naas and Waterford where couples wait up to two years for their case to come to court. In the majority of cases, it takes six months to secure a trial date and then up to 18 months for a cases to be heard. Since divorce was introduced five years ago, 2,214 divorces were granted in these five circuit courts.The survey also found that couples in Sligo, Ennis, Kilkenny and Tralee have to wait up to a year to get a court hearing for their contested cases.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 but this has not been implemented.A Justice Department spokesman said there is no vacancy at the moment for extra circuit court judges. Three new High Court judges were appointed in the past year but it is up to the presidents of the High Court and Circuit Courts to decide how their resources are allocated.Ms Walls also believes delays could be reduced if the processing of cases was speeded up. In the past five years 12,051 divorces have been granted but no extra administrative staff appointed, she claimed.A Courts Services Board spokesman rejected the claim the delays were caused by administrative problems. He said sufficient resources have been provided to deal with all areas of family law and extra family days have been allocated to circuit courts.A major refurbishment of all courthouses is underway, 80 have been upgraded and 15 fully refurbished, the spokesman added.
