Top judge: Courts can’t take any more cuts

The top judge in the land yesterday warned the Government that a "great and lasting damage" will be done to the courts if there are any further cuts to their budget.

Chief Justice Susan Denham told Justice Minister Frances Fitzgerald that instead of continuing austerity the Government could save money by coming up with “imaginative ways” to deal with traffic offences, which puts “great strain” on district courts.

Launching the Courts Service annual report 2013, Ms Justice Denham said almost six out of every 10 cases before the district courts — almost 290,000 offences — were related to non-payment of road traffic fines.