An increase of 26 per cent in the number of rapes and of 18 per cent in the number of murders dealt with by the Central Criminal Court in 2007, has been recorded in statistics to be be published later this year.
This represented an increase of 22 per cent overall in the business of the court over the previous year.
The figures, seen by The Irish Times, were compiled by the Registrar of the Central Criminal Court, Liam J Convey, and will eventually be published in the Courts Service annual report.
Waiting times for cases to come to trial are running at seven months, about one month longer than at the end of 2006, when there were fewer new cases.
There were 116 new cases filed in the Central Criminal Court in 2007, of which 39 were related to murder or manslaughter and 73 to rape. The remaining cases were aggravated sexual assault, contempt of court and one case under the Competition Act.
The number of cases received fell from a high point of 163 in 1999 to 72 in 2004, but has been climbing again in recent years, to the 116 received last year. The number of cases disposed of annually rose from 70 in 1997 to 154 in 2003. It was 123 last year. The highest number of murder cases received by the court was 55 in 2002.
The 123 cases completed during the year were heard in the Four Courts and six other venues, Limerick, Cork, Cavan, Galway, Tralee and Cloverhill. One judge, Mr Justice Paul Carney, sits full-time in the Central Criminal Court, and nine others sat last year on a part-time basis. Seventy-four cases were completed by Mr Justice Carney, and the remaining 49 were spread among the other judges.
The average duration of a murder trial was 8.3 days, with the two longest trials taking 19 and 21 days. The average time for a rape trial was 6.6 days, with the longest taking 14 days.
Of the 123 cases disposed of, 44 related to murder or manslaughter. Eleven of these were disposed of by a guilty plea without a jury being empanelled, and a further five pleaded guilty in the course of the trial.
One accused died, and in two cases a nolle prosequi was entered. The remaining 25 went to a full jury trial. Of these eight were acquitted, nine were convicted of murder and three of manslaughter, three were convicted of murder and another offence, one was convicted of attempted murder and another of manslaughter with diminished responsibility. Thus 75 per cent of those charged were convicted.
Sentences ranged from the mandatory life sentence for murder, to sentences ranging from three to 12 years for manslaughter.
Of the 73 rape cases, 20 were disposed of by guilty pleas without requiring a jury and four pleaded guilty in the course of the trial. In two cases the accused died, there were six cases where a nolle prosequi was entered, in three cases bench warrants were issued, one person was found unfit to plead and two cases were quashed.
Of the 35 that went to a full trial, 13 were acquitted. Ten were convicted of rape and another offence, seven of rape, two of attempted rape and another offence, and one each of attempted rape, assisting in a rape, and a disagreement among the jury. Thus 63 per cent of those charged were convicted.
Where the accused pleaded guilty, sentences ranged from one year (one case) to between seven and ten years imprisonment (12 cases). There was one suspended sentence. Twenty-one of the 24 sentences were imposed by Mr Justice Carney. Where the case went to a full trial again there was a wide range of sentences, from one year up to life (one case each). Seven convictions by a jury attracted a sentence of between seven and ten years, and two of between five and seven years. There were three aggravated sexual assault cases, all ending in conviction.