DPP says prosecutors’ fees to rise due to extra court sittings

The Director of Public Prosecutions has said some crime victim support groups have failed to engage with her office on deals for consistent furnishing of information in advance of trials.

She also predicted that lawyers’ fees are set to increase with additional court sittings and a number of large upcoming trials.

Speaking at the National Prosecutors' Conference at Dublin Castle this morning, Claire Loftus said she was pleased that a memorandum of understanding (MOU) had been agreed between her office and the HSE on disclosure.

This provides for the furnishing of information in a consistent manner when the DPP requests it from the HSE in relation to criminal prosecutions.

Ms Loftus said a number of similar deals had been struck with other agencies and groups, including the Dublin Rape Crisis Centre and One in Four.

“I am happy to report that the operation of these MOUs has had an immediate effect and has reduced the delays and consequent trauma caused by last-minute adjournments because the case is not ready to proceed,” she said.

However, the DPP said it was unfortunate that some organisations which provide services to victims had yet to enter into MOUs with her office or engage in the process of negotiating one.

“This has caused difficulty in practice. Some of the organisations take the view that even where the victim consents to furnishing documentation as part of disclosure those who have provided counselling can decide that the material should not be handed over,” Ms Loftus said.

“While the material in all such cases has eventually been provided this has often been at the very last minute while the trial has been about to commence. This of course is very unsatisfactory for all concerned, especially the victim.”

She encouraged those groups, who she said had taken this position “notwithstanding the wishes of their own clients”, to engage in dialogue with her office.

In the address Ms Loftus said a new EU directive - due to be transposed into Irish law by November next year - would provide victims of crime across a wider range of offences the right to an explanation when the DPP decides not to prosecute.

In 2008, the DPP’s office adopted a new policy of giving victims’ families reasons for decisions not to prosecute in fatal cases.

The expansion of the project to other types of cases has been widely expected since last year when the EU last year adopted a directive that gives crime victims the right to receive information in relation to any decision not to prosecute a suspect.

Ms Loftus also noted the result of the recent referendum on a Court of Appeal and the intention to establish a permanent division of that court to deal with criminal appeals.

This would "undoubtedly relieve" the delays in appeals at the Supreme Court and the Court of Criminal Appeal, she said, adding that she was anxious that a further backlog would not accumulate before the proposed establishment of the new court in October 2014.

Ms Loftus said one of the consequences of additional court sittings was that the expenditure of her office would increase as more cases were processed.

“This, coupled with a number of large trials, will inevitably have an effect on our expenditure on professional fees, notwithstanding the series of cuts over the last number of years. When a permanent Court of Appeal for criminal business is established it will presumably have the same effect,” she added.