Lengthy waiting times for court hearings in Carlow revealed

It can take anything between 3 to 24 months for court cases to be heard in Carlow, figures released to Sinn Féin show. 

Sinn Féin TD for Carlow Kilkenny Kathleen Funchion has slammed the waiting times at district and circuit court levels being faced by victims of crime in Carlow, particularly for those experiencing domestic and gender-based violence, and those with cases before the family courts. 

The figures, released by the Courts Service to Sinn Féin Justice spokesperson Martin Kenny TD, show that the current waiting time for hearings in Family Court can stand anywhere between 3 to 24 months, depending on the area.  

Speaking today, Teachta Funchion said:  “Across Ireland, people are becoming more aware of the scourge of domestic and gender-based violence, intimate-partner violence, harassment, and coercive control.  We as a society are getting better at identifying people in that situation, and encouraging them to seek support. 

“With the support of those around them and some outside agencies such as Amber and Carlow Women’s Aid, some survivors will turn to the courts for help in freeing them from their abuse by applying for domestic violence orders (protection orders, safety orders, barring orders), applying through the Family Courts for divorce orders, and through criminal convictions under the law through the District, Circuit and Criminal Courts.

“However, the postcode lottery faced by victims in terms of court waiting times is adding to their trauma. 

“Interim barring orders only offer protection for a maximum time of 8 days, and while judges do have the discretion to hold a hearing for a full, 3 year order on the day the application is made, it is just not feasible for them to do so with such a shortage in the system in the first place. 

"This means survivors potentially have to reapply for interim orders until their full hearing is scheduled – which could be up to twelve weeks later in Carlow.

“The idea that someone in Carlow who requires a domestic violence order might be facing a wait of approximately twelve weeks just because they live in Carlow is just unconscionable in my mind," Deputy Funchion said. 

“Women’s Aid have repeatedly described the Family Courts as a process that ‘is prolonged, costly and disempowering’, and that the ‘family law system fails women and children who are separating from a domestic abuser’.  This is a damning indictment of a system requiring systematic reform to adequately support victims and survivors," Deputy Funchion added.  

“The waiting times faced by those in Carlow is proof that we are a very long way from realising many of the goals in the Justice Minister's Zero Tolerance Strategy.  Ultimately, those being failed are mainly women and children fleeing domestic and gender based violence, who are finding themselves on a court waiting list for three months here.

“In last year's Alternative Budget, Sinn Féin pledged €5.7m to appoint more judges at district and circuit court level, which would assist in reducing waiting times.  Government has continued to ignore our calls for additional judges and insist that a report on District and Circuit court appointments is required.

“Fine Gael have been in the Justice department for well over a decade and have failed to provide the very basic requirement of access to justice for those across the country seeking protection from domestic and intimate partner violence. 

“It is time for us to do better for survivors in Carlow,” Deputy Funchion concluded.