Courts Service to pilot leaflet detailing mental health supports for jurors

Among other things, the leaflet will provide a link to mental health support services provided by the HSE

The ‘Thank You’ leaflet is currently being piloted in courts in Cork, Limerick and Galway. File picture: Larry Cummins

A leaflet containing details of mental health supports for people who have served on juries is being developed by the Courts Service as part of a programme aimed at improving the system.

The ‘Thank You’ leaflet is currently being piloted in courts in Cork, Limerick and Galway. The pilot will be extended to the Central Courts of Justice in Dublin within the next week, with a plan to complete it in February.

A spokesman for the Courts Service said: “As part of the pilot, a survey was developed to gather feedback from jurors, this can be accessed from the card via a QR code. 

"On foot of initial feedback from jurors some changes were made to the text of the card and a decision was made to also provide the survey in hard copy form.” 

It was decided in in the last quarter of 2024 to extend the pilot to the Criminal Courts of Justice in Dublin and that pilot commences in the next week or so, the spokesperson added.

"When we complete the pilot, we will review juror feedback before deciding next steps. We anticipate completing the pilot by the end of February.” 

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A spokesman for the Department of Justice said there are currently no formal mechanisms in place to support jurors after jury duty.

He said, however, that the information leaflet being piloted by the Courts Service acknowledges “that serving on a jury is not always easy for people as information they have seen or heard can be difficult”.

He added: “The leaflet will also provide a link to mental health support services provided by the HSE and other information jurors might need. 

"It was developed following feedback from jurors and will be QR code enabled so that jurors can provide ongoing feedback about their experience.” 

Jurors who served on the trial of two boys charged with the murder of 14-year-old Dublin school girl Ana Kriegel were excused from jury service for the rest of their lives after they delivered their verdict in the case in 2019. 

The presiding judge told them that he could not offer them “anything apart from, of course, sincere gratitude”.

Juror support elsewhere

Scotland has a dedicated counselling service for jurors.  Meanwhile, a pilot programme in the UK is currently rolling out counselling services to juries in 15 courts in England and Wales. 

Through the programme, jurors can self-refer for six free counselling sessions and access to a 24/7 helpline. It followed research on the issue carried out by researches at the Manchester Metropolitan University.

The move to seek the feedback of Irish jurors by the Courts Service comes as a consultation process on jury reform is currently underway. Juror distress is not included in the planned reform however.