COURTS:THE REDUCTION of the number of County Registrars from 26 to 15, the closure of a number of smaller court venues and the abolition of the grade of tipstaff in the courts are among proposed changes that the group expects to yield savings of €23.2 million.
Each county has a County Registrar, appointed by the Government from among qualified solicitors, and who act as returning officers as well as administering the Circuit Courts and offering some quasi-judicial services. It is proposed that the number of these be reduced by 11.
The group also recommended the closure of a number of smaller court venues. According to a spokesman for the Courts Service, a taskforce was set up by chief executive Brendan Ryan some months ago and has already been conducting a nationwide review of court venues. That work is well under way.
Another proposal which was anticipated by the Courts Service was a review of fees paid in civil and commercial cases. The group expected this would yield an additional €5 million in revenue.
The group also recommends that there be Monday sittings in all courts, though most courts, apart from some Circuit Courts outside Dublin, do sit on Mondays, and the opening of the courts for the full year.
The abolition of tipstaff has been proposed, providing a savings of €2.5 million. These are assistants to judges above the level of Circuit Court judges, drawn from the ranks of retired members of the Garda and Defence Forces. They act as drivers and general assistants. There are 91.