Top judge warns over impact of further cuts to Courts Service

The country’s top judge has warned the Government that any further cuts to the Courts Service could have a major negative impact on the operation of the justice system.

The chief justice, Ms Justice Susan Denham, said the Courts Service was already drawing up a contingency plan in case it is required to achieve further savings over the next two years.

However, she hinted that there was little room for further cutbacks without there being a consequent reduction in the number of court sittings as the Courts Service has already seen its non-pay budget drop by 28% since 2008.

“It is not expected that further savings of any magnitude can be achieved without impacting on court sittings,” remarked the chief justice.

She also suggested that the Courts Service had taken an unfair share of the burden of cutbacks within the overall budget controlled by the Department of Justice.

Ms Justice Denham said it seemed the Courts Service was dealing with “a lion’s share of austerity and the paring-back of budgets”.

She pointed out that the average reduction across all justice agencies (which includes the police and prison services) was just 2.6% over the same period.

During that time, the administration budget for the Prison Service decreased by just 3% while the budget for An Garda Síochána rose by 8.3%.

“It could be argued that the courts are dealing with a disproportionate cut in non-pay funding relative to other justice agencies,” remarked Ms Justice Denham.

Launching the annual report of the Courts Service yesterday, Ms Justice Denham said there had been a cumulative increase of 29% in the number of cases dealt by the courts since 2005 at a time when they had faced “severe cuts”, which included a 11% reduction in staff numbers.

The chief justice also expressed concern that the level of court fees, which has increased by 148% over the past decade, was likely to decline in the coming year as a result of the downturn in economic activity.

She claimed the fact that the Courts Service had managed to keep its core business operating effectively was testimony to the efficiency of the cost-saving measures which had been introduced.

However, she acknowledged some areas had suffered, such as spending on the maintenance of courthouses where work has been deferred.

The chief justice described 2011 as a busy and challenging year for the Courts Service.

However, she said the reorganising of court sittings and the reallocation of staff had ensured that the public’s right of access to courts was maintained with no short notice cancellations of court sittings.

Ms Justice Denham also noted there had been an increase in activity across most areas of the civil justice system.

Income from court fees fell by 0.2% in 2011 to €54.5m while there was a 28% reduction in collected fines to almost €16.5m.

Meanwhile, Justice Minister Alan Shatter announced a total of €190m will be invested in capital projects for the Garda and the Courts as well a new laboratory for the state pathologist.

Mr Shatter has approved funding for three new Garda divisional headquarters in Dublin South Central, Galway and Wexford.

He has also sanctioned funding for courthouse projects in Wexford, Waterford, Mullingar, Limerick, Cork, Letterkenny and Drogheda that he said would help reduce waiting times and litigation costs.

The Government has also given formal approval for the holding of a constitutional referendum to allow for the establishment of a new Court of Civil Appeal and a new Family Court structure.

Other constitutional amendments under consideration are to allow challenges to legislation that has been ruled constitutional by the Supreme Court on referral by the President and to allow the Government to refer international agreements to the Supreme Court before ratification.