This article is from page 2 of the 2011-11-22 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 2 JPG
COURT sittings across Clare will experience significant changes in the new year if proposals to centralise the service, which is currently on the table, are adopted.
Under the changes, there will be specific dates for crime hearings, separate dates for civil hearings and other listed dates for hearings related to traffic offences.
Also, most of the hearings will be centralised to Ennis. While Kilrush cases will continue to be heard in the west Clare town, cases from north Clare are to be moved to Ennis.
Shannon cases are already heard in Ennis, while Killaloe courts currently sit in Ennis as a temporary measure while a new venue for the east Clare courts is being sought.
Up to six additional east Clare sittings will take place annually, after Athenry was moved from the district to the Galway district. It frees up the 11 Athenry sittings currently presided over by the district court judge responsible for Clare. Some of those will go to Killaloe, where a backlog has built up over the past few years, after Scariff and Tulla courts closed.
Under the proposals, there will be five crime sittings a month, two traffic days and two civil hearings, along with two days of family law sittings.
Crime cases will be heard on Wednesdays, with civil and traffic cases on Fridays.
“The bulk of Ennistymon is going back to Ennis, apart from a few townlands that will go to Kil- rush. Kilrush will stay as is,” said a spokesperson for the Courts Service.
The spokesperson added that if possible, courts will move back to Killaloe.
“If we can keep a court in Killaloe we will. A committee is looking at venues,” said the spokesperson.
The proposed changes, which are at draft stage, are poised to be implemented in January if they are adopted.
The separation of the types of offences heard means that less Garda resources will be wasted. In recent years, members of the traffic corps regularly spent hours sitting in court waiting for hours for their cases to be heard during the general court sittings.
“It will reduce Garda overtime, for example if there are 14 gardaí from Shannon sitting in Ennis court, at least seven will be on overtime, at the moment. Now, they can be put working on the days their court is sitting. It is a way of reducing State expenses,” said the spokesperson.
A Garda spokesman told The Clare People that hopes are high that the Killaloe courts still return to east Clare, having sat in Ennis since September.
Additional dates for Killaloe court sittings were requested by gardaí, after lengthy sittings prevailed in recent months.
“The logistics of bringing all the gardaí and witnesses from Killaloe to Ennis is a nightmare. There is no direct public transport service for people travelling the 35 miles to court,” he said.