This article is from page 6 of the 2012-09-18 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 6 JPG
MORE sittings of Kilrush District Court are to be held to deal with the growing number of criminal cases coming before it.
Lengthening criminal lists have seen courts sit late into the evening and on at least one occasion as late as 8.50pm. District Court Judge Patrick Durkin said, “Two registrars have been brought out here (to Kilrush) due to the level of criminal cases.
“We are actively working to get you more (court) days,” he told the Garda Superintendent and officers of the court present.
“You don’t have enough court time here. We are looking at getting more time.”
He recalled how one night he left Kilrush court at 8.50pm and by the time he had driven as far as Ennis he was “cross eyed”.
He said it was difficult to be fresh for another sitting in just over 12 hours time.
Judge Durkin said he had also observed Inspector Tom Kennedy in Ennis having to deal with a heavy caseload, often prosecuting three days of court in a row.
He said, you cannot expect to go home late and then spend another two hours preparing for cases the following day.
Extra judges are already scheduled to come to the Clare jurisdiction for four days in October to allow for extra sittings, and to allow for longer cases to be heard, he explained.
The court services are also working to extend the court sitting days in Kilrush and Ennis on a more permanent basis, taking into account the number of courts that have been moved recently to Ennis.