More than a quarter of the District Court judges are off work at the moment, The Irish Times has learned. This, along with normal holiday arrangements for this time of year, is contributing to a shortage of judges in the District Court and the adjournment of cases, writes Carol Coulter, Legal Affairs Correspondent.
The next law term is due to start on Monday, but the majority of District Courts sit during the summer, and holidays are dealt with on a rostered basis.
There are 54 District Court judges, of whom 18 are assigned to Dublin and 23 to provincial courts. The remaining 13 move around as needed.
The shortage of judges and the illness of the specific judge due to hear cases led to the adjournment of yesterday's hearings of family law cases in Cork.
Most of them were put back until December 13th, although some were heard in the afternoon when Judge Con O'Leary sat specially to hear them.
According to Gerry Curran, spokesman for the Courts Service, most of the permanently assigned judges take their holidays in August, and their courts are manned by moveable judges, most of whom then take their annual leave in September. This means that a number of judges are on holiday in August and September, putting pressure on the system.
Currently eight are on leave and six are ill, according to Mr Curran. Commenting on the adjournment yesterday of the family law cases in Cork for 2½ months, he said anyone who had a specific worry they wanted addressed urgently could apply to the court.