Nine new judges appointed to clear judiciary system

NINE new judges are to be appointed to clear backlogs in criminal cases and to help curb the use of judicial reviews as a delaying tactic.

The Government gave its approval to the appointments — two will be assigned to the High Court, two to the Circuit Court and the remaining five to the District Court.

Announcing the decision yesterday, Tánaiste Michael McDowell said the judges were being appointed to deal with delays and to generally speed up the judicial process.