Donegal Judge says court cannot continue to adjourn cases to facilitate gardaí as case list doubles
Donegal's Circuit Court Judge has said the court system cannot continue to adjourn cases to facilitate gardaí.
Judge John Aylmer voiced his annoyance at the ongoing situation as the list of criminal cases for the current three-week Letterkenny Circuit Court sitting reached more than 200 cases.
Advertisement
Judge Aylmer noted that the spiralling list had more than doubled from around 100 cases in the past 18 months.
As well as a list of 212 criminal cases for the current court session, there are extensive civil cases, licensing matters, and District Court appeals to address on the list.
Addressing the court on the first day of the current sittings yesterday, he told State prosecutor, Ms Fiona Crawford, that he wanted a message to go out 'loud and clear' to An Garda Síochána.
Judge Aylmer said that the schedule for the Circuit Court is known from October of each year.
Advertisement
He added that gardaí should not take holidays during sessions and that officers who aren't present should have to take an oath in the witness box to explain why.
And he warned of the consequences if the court was forced to adjourn cases because of the absence of gardaí.
He said: 'We can't facilitate guards in that way or we will have a list of 300 (cases).'
He said the State prosecution team should have clear instructions on cases by the start of the court term.
Judge Aylmer added, 'The list is taking too long to call because you don't know what the position is.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
BreakingNews.ie
3 hours ago
- BreakingNews.ie
Politics watch: Names begin to emerge ahead of presidential election
Here, we have a look at the issues likely to dominate political discourse in the week to come. Hanafin and Kelly declare presidential intentions Former minister Mary Hanafin is to seek the Fianna Fáil nomination to contest the presidential election. Advertisement The Tipperary native and former Dun Laoighaire TD has told the Irish Independent she is "in the mix". Ms Hanafin said: "'If I could contest it, I would happily do that. It's a role I would hope people could feel I would do well, both nationally and internationally." Fianna Fáil hasn't put forward a candidate for the election since 1997. The party decided to sit out the 2011 presidential election after a disastrous showing at the general election earlier that year, while in 2018 Fianna Fáil opted not to challenge President Michael D Higgins. Advertisement Ms Hanafin, 66, feels sitting out the 2025 presidential election is not an option. 'I think it would be an insult to the office of president if the largest political party doesn't contest it. It's a really important constitutional role,' she said. 'I think the nomination should be decided earlier rather than later. I know it can make it a very long campaign, but for a candidate to campaign well I think you could go around the country and actually talk to people." Ms Hanafin has had a number of disputes with Taoiseach Micheál Martin in the past. In 2011, she lost out to Mr Martin in the Fianna Fáil leadership contest, and in 2014 she ignored his request not to stand in the local elections in Blackrock. Advertisement However, she said they are now on good terms. Ms Hanafin served as education minister, arts minister and social protection minister during her time in government. She is the first big name in Fianna Fáil to make her intention to seek the nomination clear. Former taoiseach Bertie Ahern, former minister Éamon Ó Cuív and MEP Cynthia Ní Mhurchú have all been linked with a bid. Big names have been slow to emerge ahead of the election, but many are likely to set out their stall in the weeks to come given the election must take place by Tuesday, November 11th. Advertisement MEP Seán Kelly and former MEP Mairead McGuinness are likely to compete for the Fine Gael nomination. Speaking to reporters in Brussels, Mr Kelly said he is considering running but has not yet made up his mind. He also said an internal contest for the Fine Gael nomination would be a positive. "Democracies thrive on elections, without elections you can't have democracies. The members like to be able to exercise their franchise," he said. Advertisement Sinn Féin has not selected a candidate yet, but Northern Ireland First Minister Michelle O'Neill has not ruled out a bid. At a press conference in Co Armagh last week, Ms O'Neill was asked about the possibility of her running in the election. She replied: "I think I've plenty to do, being First Minister. But I would think the fact remains that I could stand for election, I could be elected as Uachtarán na hÉireann, but I can't vote in that election, so that's where there's a deficit and what we need to see is presidential voting rights extended to the North so the Irish citizens in the North can vote.' Former SDLP leader Colum Eastwood was also linked with a presidential bid. He told the BBC that people had asked him to consider a presidential bid. 'I'm going to take the time to think about it." Presidential voting rights Keeping the presidential theme, Sinn Féin are set to table a motion in the Dáil on Tuesday that seeks to extend voting rights to people in the North. Government at risk of normalising rising homlesssness - Eoin Ó Broin Sinn Féin housing spokesperson Eoin Ó Broin says the Government are at risk of normalising rising numbers of homelessness. Mr Ó Broin made the comments as it was confirmed that homeless figures have once again risen to record levels, with 15,747 people now in emergency accommodation. Speaking to , Mr Ó Broin pointed out that the number of homeless people has increased every month under the current Government. "Every month since this Government has been in office, the numbers have increased. "The latest figures for May show increases across every level of homelessness. Adult homelessness, child homelessness, singles, children, families, and pensioners. AI literacy Artificial intelligence (AI) learning should go beyond the basics of AI literacy to equip students for the future, according to an Irish expert. Dr Gearóid Ó Súilleabháin is head of the Department of Technology Enhanced Learning at Munster Technological University (MTU), where he leads the development and management of online and blended programmes, promotes research into the enhancement of teaching and learning through technology, and supports the mainstream use of technology-enhanced learning. In an interview with , Dr Ó Súilleabháin said AI learning should go beyond the basics to help students get a more complete understanding. "I think the best we can do is become more AI literate which goes beyond just teaching people how to design the right prompts for these generative AI systems and to help people to kind of understand what these systems are doing, how they're built and some of the ethical issues arising in their use, and in the way that they're now moving towards the mainstream. "I think that's absolutely critical. We have to go beyond simply giving people instructions and guidelines about how to use this technology. People need to understand where this technology has come from, what's going on in the background. "I think we need to understand this is just a kind of statistical echo, if you like, of what humans do and it might have the same structure or texture of the kind of responses and products of a human mind." Abroad The fragile ceasefire between Israel and Iran is still ongoing. Political attention in the US has since turned to president Donald Trump's domestic policy bill as it is debated at the Senate. In the UK, prime minister Keir Starmer has rowed back on a plan that would have seen large cuts to disability payments.
Daily Mail
3 hours ago
- Daily Mail
BREAKING NEWS BBC finally speaks out in the wake of Kneecap and Bob Vylan's Glastonbury performances - and BANS one of the acts from on demand
The BBC has finally spoken out in the wake of Kneecap and Bob Vylan's controversial Glastonbury performances - and has banned one of them from on-demand viewing. The grime-punk duo, named for US singer-songwriter Bob Dylan, are being investigated after allegedly calling for 'Death to the IDF' during their performance at Worthy Farm, shown live by the BBC on Saturday. Meanwhile, the Irish language rap trio were not streamed live by the BBC - but the broadcaster faced calls, including from Keir Starmer and Kemi Badenoch, for the band to be dropped after one member was charged with a terror offence. The group's lead rapper Liam O'Hanna, 27, whose stage name is Mo Chara, is on unconditional bail after being charged with terrorism for supporting Hezbollah, a proscribed terrorist organisation. It came after he appeared in court last week after being charged for allegedly displaying a flag in support of proscribed terrorist organisation Hezbollah while saying 'up Hamas, up Hezbollah' at a gig in November last year. And now, the BBC has spoken out about its stance on both acts, saying it has made Kneecap's performance available to stream on iPlayer. Meanwhile, it has 'no plans' to make Bob Vylan's performance available on demand, citing the 'deeply offensive' language the pair used onstage. A BBC spokesperson said of Kneecap: 'We have made an on-demand version of Kneecap's performance available on iPlayer, as part of our online collection of more than 90 other sets. 'We have edited it to ensure the content falls within the limits of artistic expression in line with our editorial guidelines and reflects the performance from Glastonbury's West Holts stage. 'As with all content which includes strong language, this is signposted with appropriate warnings. 'As we have said before, acts are booked by the festival, and the BBC doesn't ban artists. We didn't stream Kneecap live.' They added of Bob Vylan: 'Some of the comments made during Bob Vylan's set were deeply offensive. 'During this live stream on iPlayer, which reflected what was happening on stage, a warning was issued on screen about the very strong and discriminatory language.
BreakingNews.ie
3 hours ago
- BreakingNews.ie
Government at risk of normalising rising homlesssness, says Sinn Féin TD
Sinn Féin housing spokesperson Eoin Ó Broin says the Government are at risk of normalising rising numbers of homelessness. Mr Ó Broin made the comments as it was confirmed that homeless figures have once again risen to record levels, with 15,747 people now in emergency accommodation. Advertisement Of those people, 4,844 children were accessing emergency accommodation during the last week of May. Speaking to , Mr Ó Broin pointed out that the number of homeless people has increased every month under the current Government. "Every month since this Government has been in office, the numbers have increased. "The latest figures for May show increases across every level of homelessness. Adult homelessness, child homelessness, singles, children, families, and pensioners. Advertisement "The constant rise in child homelessness is deeply concerning, and a direct result of Government failure. "The policies they are pursuing are failing, and in particular, they are failing children. What we need is a radical change in direction. Without that, my concern is we will continue to see record highs every month. "They are in denial about the scale of the emergency we are in. They are in denial of how their policies have caused this crisis, and they are spending far too much time blaming everybody else, for an emergency of their making." The Sinn Féin TD says the Government are now at risk of normalising homelessness, and is not taking into account the effect homelessness has on people. Advertisement "I think the Government is at risk of normalising ever rising levels of homelessness, but also the enormous impact of staying in emergency accommodation has on adults, and particularly children. "Every time I hear a Government minister or the Taoiseach say housing the homeless is the number one priority, the problem is you can't keep saying that when month on month, your actions and inactions are leading to an ever greater number of people being homeless. "Ultimately, the solution to this is accelerating the delivery of social and affordable homes, and also the kind of homes in the right place." Mr Ó Broin also voiced his concern over changes to the Rent Pressure Zones which were recently confirmed by the Government. Advertisement New tenancies created from March 1st, 2026 onwards will be set at market value and offer six-year minimum rolling tenancies. At the end of the six-year tenancy, the rent can be reset and 'put back to the market', meaning the first series of rent resets under the reforms will take place in 2032. Mr Ó Broin says he fears rents will increase to a point which people will not be able to afford under the new changes. "One of the big concerns about the Rent Pressure Zones from March next year, when the rules come in, we are going to see over a period of time, rents right across the private rental sector reset to market rents, and that is something renters will not be able to afford. "It is important to remember the reason rent regulations were introduced in the first place in 2016 is because rents in the private rental sector were increasing 20 per cent plus a year. "Families were unable to afford those rents, falling into rental arrears and then emergency accommodation. "The idea that dismantling that is the solution, is utter madness."
