A brief summary of the Courts Service annual report for 2005.
• Supreme Court cases were heard last year within seven months compared to waiting times of between five and seven years a decade ago.
• In the Central Criminal Court waiting times were down to six months compared to two years in 2001.
• The Courts Service generated revenue of €83 million from fines, poor box contributions and bail fees, etc.
• Expenditure reached €104 million last year, which included a capital programme.
• 700,000 matters were dealt with in 250 courtrooms at 170 locations. Over 20,000 custodial sentences were handed down.
• The Circuit Criminal Court saw a 10 per cent increase in trials being heard. Guilty pleas were entered in 67 per cent of cases in the regions and in 85 per cent of cases in Dublin. Some 65 per cent of cases related to robbery and assault.
• Some 66 per cent of District Court cases involved traffic matters - 200,000 cases in all.
• Applications for guardianship by unmarried fathers increased to 1,734 cases from 1,237 in 2004.
• Some 2,434 children were brought before the Children's Courts. Of these 558 had their cases struck out, while 288, or 12 per cent, saw charges withdrawn or dismissed.
• Some 441, or 18 per cent, of children's cases saw sentences of some form of detention, and 131, or 5 per cent, were sent for trial to the Circuit or Central Criminal Court. Some 28 children before the courts were committed to special schools.
• Judicial review cases in respect of asylum and immigration applications increased by 35 per cent to 1,863 cases.
• Mortgage suits - they involve property repossessions - and liquidations increased by 60 per cent to 81 cases.
• In the Small Claims Court, 55 per cent of cases were resolved without going to court,
• There was a 25 per cent decrease in the number of licensing applications - usually involving pubs seeking an extension to their opening hours - before the District Courts.
• Some €150 million has been spent on new courthouses in the last six years. More facilities are planned or under construction in areas with increased populations such as Blanchardstown, Dublin, and Maynooth, Co Kildare.