Number of children taken into care doubles
It revealed that a total of 2,287 minors were placed under the supervision of the HSE by the courts in 2011 compared to just 1,046 in the previous year — an increase of 119%.
Care orders are sought by the HSE when they believe they are dealing with children who are at risk or in need of care.
A spokesperson for the Courts Service said there was no obvious explanation for the large increase in the number of care orders issued by the courts in 2011.
However, the HSE said its children and family services had been implementing a major reform programme over the past 18 months which had included the standardisation of social work practice and processes around the country.
The HSE pointed out that 260 extra social workers had also begun work for the HSE during the same period.
The annual report of the Court Service which was published yesterday reveals that overall there was an increase in the number of rape, theft, fraud and robbery cases and a reduction in the number of drugs and road traffic cases in 2011.
The Central Criminal Court handled 39 murder cases last year — a 7% increase on 2010 figures, but a 26% decrease compared to 2009.
Of these, 23 cases went to trial while guilty pleas were entered in 16 cases. There were 20 convictions for murder and 18 for linked offences such as manslaughter. Eighteen offenders received life sentences while four more individuals received prison sentences in excess of 10 years.
The criminal courts dealt with over 452,000 criminal matters involving more than 174,000 defendants in 2011
A total of 80 rape cases were conducted at the Central Criminal Court in 2011, a 27% increase over the previous year.
There were 43 jury trials while 21 defendants pleaded guilty.
Rape cases resulted in one life sentence being imposed, while eight offenders received sentences greater than 12 years and 27 convicts received prison terms of 5-12 years.
At Circuit Court level, 50 sentences greater than 10 years were imposed, the majority for cases involving theft, fraud and robbery.
The Courts Service reported a general increase in cases related to the recovery of debt last year, although there was a drop in the number of applications for committal to prison of individuals for non-payment of debt following the introduction of new legislation — down 63% to 1,051.
However, there were 7,795 judgments registered for non-payment last year, a 42% increase.
There was a 14% decrease in the number of orders for repossession of houses at High Court level but a 15% increase in similar applications at Circuit Court level.
The trend is believed to be a response by financial institutions to criticisms by judges of such cases being heard in the High Court.
The Courts Service said Ireland’s Supreme Court is among the busiest of its type in the world with 500 new appeals received during 2011.
Almost one in five cases coming before the country’s top court is brought by a lay litigant.
Increases were also recorded in the number of applications for the winding up of companies and bankruptcies.
There was a significant reduction in drink driving and other motoring offences in 2011.
Legal costs claimed by all parties fell by 12% to €58.5m, while the court’s taxing masters allowed costs of €41.3m — a 30% reduction on original claims.
The number of people being granted divorces and judicial separations remained largely unchanged.
