The Courts Service has apologised to the public after two bags of mail sent to the Four Courts were shredded by mistake.
The mail was delivered to the Four Courts in Dublin on Tuesday and was collected in error by the contractor responsible for destroying confidential documents. The contractor dumped the mail in an on-site industrial shredder before anyone realised what had happened.
The mix-up was captured on CCTV, said the Courts Service, so there were no concerns that the mail had been lost. It was a simple case of human error, said a spokesman for the service. "The mail arrived at the same time as the contractor was taking off bags for shredding. The contractor took two bags by mistake."
He said the service had "no idea" how many letters had been destroyed, although "we're not talking about thousands".
The letters would have included legal documents and court-imposed fines that had been sent to the District Court offices in the Four Courts. Post for the High Court, the Supreme Court and the Circuit Court is also processed in the Four Courts mailroom.
Most vital legal documents are believed to be safe, as they would have been sent separately from the general post so that their arrival could be officially recorded by Four Courts staff, said the service's spokesman. This mail was not shredded.
Law Society director general Ken Murphy said the mistake would prove disruptive but was unlikely to cause major problems for solicitors.
"A lot of filings of pleadings and other legal documents can be done electronically now," he said. Lawyers would have been unlikely to put original documents in the post without making copies.
Mr Murphy said subcontracting out services was the order of the day for business, and human error could happen at any organisation.
The Courts Service has placed newspaper advertisements to alert anyone who has sent mail to the Four Courts in the last few days. They are advised to call 01-8886000 to ensure their mail had arrived, the spokesman said.