'Relentless growth' in digital evidence raising pressure on court prosecutors, says DPP

The Director of Public Prosecutions of Ireland Catherine Pierse said: 'There is a clear need to re-examine the policies and practices that underpin our current approach to disclosure. At present, the prosecution and investigators are tasked with reviewing extensive volumes of material to identify information that may be relevant to the defence, in the absence of any statutory obligation on the defence to engage in this process.' File photo: Sam Boal/Collins Photos

The legal obligation on prosecutors to disclose all relevant evidence to the defence is increasingly an issue, such is the “relentless growth” in digital evidence that gardaí and prosecuting solicitors have to examine, the DPP has said.

In the foreword to her Annual Report 2024, Catherine Pierse states that the prosecution and investigators are tasked with reviewing “extensive volumes” of material to identify information of potential relevance to the defence, but there is no legal obligation on the defence to assist.

Ms Pierse said there was a “clear need” for policies and practices on disclosure to be re-examined.

Statistics published in the report show a small rise in the outcomes of cases prosecuted in the Circuit Criminal Court (CCC) in 2023 (4,541) over 2022 (4,414).

The biggest increase was in robbery (up 14% to 324), and there was also an increase in child abuse imagery ("child pornography" is the legal offence) cases (up 21% to 97) while there were:

• 1,527 property offences prosecuted in 2023, compared to 1,465 in 2022; 
• 325 sex offences in 2023, down from 361 in 2022; 
• 818 drug offences (supply, not possession), compared to 783 in 2022; 
• 985 offences against the person (including assaults), compared to 967; 
• 354 public order offences, compared to 345 in 2022; 
• 14 fatal offences (at work or manslaughter), compared to five in 2022. 

In the non-jury Special Criminal Court, there were 12 prosecutions where outcomes were known in 2023, up from two in 2022, but down from 21 in 2021. Eight of the 12 prosecutions were for attempted murder. In eight of the cases, there was a guilty plea.

The annual report also provides details on the outcomes of prosecutions before the CCC, which deals with homicide and serious sexual crimes and serious assaults. The total number of such cases fell from 232 in 2022 to 211 in 2023.

The number of murder prosecutions rose significantly, from 25 in 2022 to 35 in 2023, with a drop in rape prosecutions, from 175 in 2022 to 145 in 2023.

The report pointed out that the increase in judges in the CCC in previous years, from five to 12, had led to a “significant increase” in activity levels.

“During 2024, our office supported a total of 2,185 trial dates listed in the CCC,” the report said. “This represents a 43% increase over the past three years and a 19% increase on 2023.” It said that a total of 299 CCC cases were concluded during 2024.

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There was also an increase in the number of cases being moved to venues outside of Dublin during 2024, with 855 CCC case listings outside of the capital during that period, a 65% increase on the preceding year.

The report shows a significant growth in court dates in the CCC in Cork, rising from 134 in 2023 to 242 in 2024 (+80%).

In Limerick, the number of CCC court dates nearly quadrupled – from 51 to 194. The growth in Waterford CCC court dates was not far behind – rising from 47 to 170.

The report said: “This increasing regionalisation of the Central Criminal Court’s operations is one of the reasons why the office is seeking to open a regional office in Cork in 2026 – i.e. to be able to support the continuous sitting of a Central Criminal Court in that county.” 

The annual report also notes an almost 150% increase in freezing and confiscation of criminal assets, with 208 confiscation and forfeiture orders in 2024. These orders had a total value of more than €12m.

Digital evidence

Ms Pierse said a “key challenge” that remained prominent throughout 2024 was the “relentless growth in digital data”, such as mobile devices, social media platforms and CCTV footage.

She said: “To take a hypothetical example – a typical file 15 years ago regarding an assault on a street would have included a victim’s statement and a memo of interview with an accused, and perhaps a couple of witness statements. 

"Now this file would include the phone footage of bystanders; CCTV from nearby premises, and possibly the details of some of the social media conversations that took place in the aftermath of the assault.” 

This was having a significant impact, she said: “This surge in material gathered during investigations and submitted to my office for review continues to reshape both the volume and complexity of evidence that must be assessed when determining whether to prosecute, examined for relevance at the disclosure stage, and ultimately presented in court.

“There is a clear need to re-examine the policies and practices that underpin our current approach to disclosure. At present, the prosecution and investigators are tasked with reviewing extensive volumes of material to identify information that may be relevant to the defence, in the absence of any statutory obligation on the defence to engage in this process.”